


Let It Bleed

by ohsehunseoul



Category: EXO (Band), Fallout 3, Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post Apocalyptic, Death, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:29:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 46,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsehunseoul/pseuds/ohsehunseoul
Summary: The apocalypse was always a thought in the back of people's heads, but they never expected it to happen in 2022. Kim Jaehyun, head of the Seoul Official Agency's signature smirk when he announced the nuclear fallout was burned into every survivor's mind. Those who did survive had two choices: take down the SOA, or die trying.





	1. 1/2

**Author's Note:**

> Some ideas were taken from Fallout 3 and 4, such as the enemy names. To get a better visual, I highly recommend checking out the mentioned names you will see in the work!  
> The title was coined from the song 'Let It Bleed' by The Used.

The world used to be such a different place before the war. Before the apocalypse. Before Red Force. Red Force had been the beginning of the end. The drug was disguised as a cure for deathly illnesses, being said that it could even cure cancer. The government approved the drug, so doctors paid no mind to the suspicions of the miracle drug and administered it to their patients. The drug guaranteed that, no more than three days later, said patient would be healed and stronger than ever. That was the case, for the most part. The repercussions of the drug were kept behind closed doors, until an estranged patient got loose and made the news. The drug had become addictive, once ill patients craving it, willing to do anything to get it. The patient, once in their deathbed, lurked the streets and raided any place they could. The police ended up being called after a supermarket employee called them, alerting them that someone in hospital gowns used their bare hands to break both of their legs. The police located the patient, but it was too late. The withdrawals of the drug were so strong, that they caused them to claw out their own throat in the middle of the street with their bare hands. The officers went to the hospital where the individual’s hospital bracelet read, to find every doctor, patient, and employee dead. The patients hadn’t been administered more of the drug, so they were found with their throats also ripped open. Doctors and employees were discovered mangled and barely recognizable.

After the incident from Red Force, Government official Kim Jaehyun made his first television appearance.

“Hello, residents of South Korea,” His voice echoed through the streets of Seoul, “I’m sure you have heard of the,” he paused, “Unfortunate incident with Red Force.” Jaehyun’s grin flashed on the screen, “I do have the pleasure in announcing one thing. The end. Yes, that is correct. I hope you’re prepared. Here I am to introduce you to our latest creation. Power Armor.”

The camera panned to a large suit, over eight feet tall. Surrounding the suit were government employees in hazard suits and holding crimson shotguns. The camera then returned to Official Kim. “Power Armor is amazingly strong. It can survive radiation and has enough protection to deter gunshots. Why am I introducing this, you may ask? Well, we here SOA’s have decided to change the world, for the better. In about,” Jaehyun paused to look at his wristwatch, “Say, twenty minutes, a lovely nuclear bomb is going to go off, contaminating all of Korea. And, who knows, maybe it will make it’s way to other countries. Now, where do you all play into this? I’m more than happy to tell you. You don’t. And if you do manage to survive the apocalypse, or are one of those crazy,” Jaehyun put air quotes around the word crazy, “people who saw this coming, congratulations. Additionally, Red Force will be your friend. It will give you enough strength to kill those who will kill you. I guarantee no one is your friend in the apocalypse. With the survivors, we will build a better tomorrow, a better life created by SOA. There will be no room for the weak. Only the strong will survive.” Jaehyun smirked once more into the camera before the screen went blank. The SOA, Seoul Official Agency had been acting suspicious for a long period of time, as to why groups had banded together to create bunkers against the nuclear fallout.

The sounds of people screaming and explosions going off still rang in the survivor’s ears who were safely tucked away underground, or in reinforced protection.

That was three days ago.

Sehun had awoken in a jolt. Though he was safely tucked away thirty feet underground, he could still hear the deafening screams of three days prior. He hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in as long as he could remember. He had been living in the bunker for three months, moving from his poorly built one in Daegu to Incheon. He wasn’t there alone, though. He was accompanied by his best friend, Kim Jongdae. Jongdae was sleeping peacefully next to Sehun. Sehun sat up, careful to not wake up Jongdae. Jongdae was practically two years older than Sehun. They met when Sehun was a freshman in high school in his culinary class. They bonded over burnt pasta and clicked immediately. Ever since then, they had been close. It was in Jongdae’s sophomore year of college that he brought up some information about the government to Sehun. Sehun had then showed him notebooks he had filled to the brim, indicating suspicious activity of the government that he had found through news articles, leaked information, interviews, and more. That’s when they planned their survival plan for the apocalypse. Sehun and Jongdae had urged family and friends to listen to them, but they got laughed at and told that they were ‘insane’. Sehun didn’t have a good relationship with his parents, so talking to them about the inevitable apocalypse added fuel to the fire. Sehun was lucky that he had Jongdae. He was all he had now.

Sehun finished getting ready as quietly as he could, throwing on a red turtleneck, a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots. He packed all of his belongings into the backpack he had brought to the bunker and flipped through his notebooks full of detrimental information on the SOA, adding in updates he heard over the radio.

As Sehun was writing, he heard Jongdae shift in the bed. He looked over to see the brunette peering over the tattered covers on his body.

“Escape day?” Jongdae said, looking at Sehun.

“Escape day.” Sehun grinned in return.

…

Jongdae had gotten ready in a flash, pulling on a loose-fitting pinstripe button down, black jeans, a taupe colored trench coat, and similar shoes to Sehun. They made their way through the bunker and to the entrance. Well, the first entrance wasn’t quite the entrance to the upper ground level. There had been extra precautions taken to assure that various steps and paths were taken for one to get out of the bunker. The bunker looked like the inside of a vault, heavy doors keeping people in, and preventing them from getting out. Just as the duo made their way to the vault door, Sehun felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Doctor Jun looking at him. Jun had come from Japan ten years before the apocalypse to build the vault. He wanted to find a way to protect those who were living ignorant to the secrets of the government. His questioning eyes grazed Sehun and Jongdae.

“Doctor Jun. We’re leaving.” Sehun said, smiling sadly at the doctor’s kind eyes.

Jun sighed, “I saw this coming. I wish I could get you to stay, but I know you won’t listen.”

Sehun nodded, “I promise you, we are going to come back for you once we find out what’s on the other side. We are going to need someone brave to run this hellhole after all of this is through, aren’t we?”

Jun could only laugh. When Sehun had first come, he would only talk to Jongdae. Jongdae, on the other hand, was very outgoing and would speak for his best friend. Sehun had always been shy, but he felt comfortable with the doctor. It was sad to leave Jun, but Sehun was aware that Jun could hold his ground.

“I believe in you two. You are going to have to go before anyone else sees you, though. They won’t be too happy,” Jun nodded, seemingly trying to convince himself that it was okay to let the two go, “But, I have something for you.”

Jun quickly went to his office and came back with a medium sized box. He opened it to reveal two devices that were foreign to Sehun and Jongdae.

“What are these?” Jongdae asked, picking one up.

“I call it the L-1485. Think of it as a GPS of sorts. You wear it on your wrist like this,” Jun took Sehun’s arm and rolled up his sleeves on his left arm. He put the device on Sehun’s forearm. It took up about half of his forearm, but felt comfortable. Jun flipped a switch on the side, which revealed a black screen with green text.

“Turn this knob once and,” Jun turned the knob to the right of the screen, “And it opens a map. Turn it down once more, and it goes to the radio. Again, and it shows you my favorite part. I took the notes Sehun showed me and some of my own most precious information and installed it into the L-1485. You can talk anything you find into it, as well. There is also a decoding device, that will help you in some more secure locations. I have been working on this device for almost eight years. I have a few made, but these are my newest and best models. I want you two to have them.”

Sehun looked at the device in admiration. He had so much power and technology on his wrist, that he had not even fathomed the power of it.

“It can also detect traces of Red Force in items, such as food and drink. In the upper hand corner, there will always be a percentage of how much radiation is in the air. Too high of radiation can kill you.”

“Jun, I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.” Sehun enveloped Jun into a hug. Jongdae joined in, as well.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m counting on you boys. I just hope I will be able to see you again one day.”

The trio’s discussion halted quickly when footsteps were heard.

“You need to go,” Jun said, sadly shooing the two away. “Wait, before you do,” Jun dashed into his office again and threw them a black canvas bag and handed Sehun a baseball bat lined with nails and barbed wire, “Use it wisely.”

Jongdae and Sehun nodded to Jun, hugging him once more, before Jun keyed in a code into the box before the vault door.

“The L-1485 will guide you out. Please, be safe out there.”

The footsteps got louder and more rapid as the vault doors creaked open. Jongdae and Sehun squeezed through the small opening, so Jun didn’t have to open it any more and risk being caught. Sehun turned to look at Jun once more a he closed the vault doors. Sehun and Jongdae were in darkness once the doors closed. Jongdae fidgeted with the L-1485. Suddenly, a light emitted from it.

“Sehun, press the black button on bottom left. It’s a light.”

Sehun obliged and their path was illuminated. They walked down a dirt path for what felt like miles. Above them and around them was more dirt. The lack of air and circulation felt suffocating for the two, so they quickened their pace. Both made an audible sigh of relief when their devices indicated they were near the end.

When they reached the dirt wall at the end of the path, they looked at each other. That’s when Sehun leaned against the wall and felt a cool metal on his arm.

“A ladder,” Sehun said, “We have to go up thirty feet of ladder.”

Jongdae went first and Sehun was close on his tail. They were fortunate to not have carried much, as Sehun’s bag contained both of their belongings, and Jongdae had the bag Jun gave them. Sehun had the bat safely tucked in the bag, peeking out of the top. When they finally made it up the ladder, another vault door greeted them, this time above them. Jongdae groped the ceiling for a keypad and found it.

“Shit, what’s the code?” Jongdae panicked.

Sehun held onto the ladder with one hand and looked through his L-1485 with the other. Suddenly, the screen filled with green letters and numbers, some slowly disappearing every few seconds.

“The decoder, it’s working,” Sehun kept his eyes on the decoder. When it finished, it read 42817. Sehun told him the code and Jongdae keyed it in. The next thing they saw was the brightest light they have ever experienced. The two nearly toppled down the ladder as the light nearly blinded them. The two had not experienced natural light in over three months, so it took some adjusting. With their eyes lidded, they fumbled up the ladder and onto the ground outside. The vault closed after them, the top covered with dirt, leaving it inconspicuous to the naked eye. Once they slightly adjusted to the sunlight, or moreso, Sehun pulled out some sunglasses out of his bag that they had brought from their previous bunker, they took in their surroundings. Their devices read that it was October 10th, 2022 at 9:17 in the morning. Though the sun was bright, the air was cool, but not bone chillingly so.

They both gasped as they saw the ruins of what was once a beautiful city. Trees were burned and standing up by a thread, the grass was non-existent, buildings were in shambles, ponds were green, and bridges were collapsed. The two were so distracted by what they saw to notice the almost inaudible sounds of something approaching. It wasn’t until Sehun winced in pain and looked up to see some sort of mutated creature, that they realized they were in trouble. From Sehun’s research on radiation, he figured that this was what once was a fox of some sort, now mutated into a hideous creature that looked as if he was ready to claw out Sehun’s eyes. Sehun quickly stood up and fumbled in his bag for his baseball bat. He could feel his cheek dripping blood from where the creature clawed him. Sehun successfully pulled out his bat and sent it straight into the creature’s head. Blood that was so deep in color it was almost black oozed out of it’s head. It backed up momentarily and pounced on Sehun. Sehun thanked his years of dancing and used his quick reflexes to kick it back. Just as it began to pounce again, Sehun heard a gunshot. The creature collapsed to the ground in a puddle of blood. Sehun turned to look at Jongdae, who had a pistol in his hands.

“Looks like Jun gave us some goodies.” Jongdae smirked and Sehun grinned back.

The bag was filled with firearm ammo. The ammo was surprisingly light. Jun had mentioned that he was creating weapons, but Sehun had never considered that he had done it. The ammo seemed quite powerful for being so small and lightweight. There were four pistols in the bag, two pocket knives, four bottles of painkillers, a first-aid kit, two daggers, water purifying droplets, energy bars, and a few more helpful items. Sehun mentally thanked Jun as he tucked a pistol in the waist of his pants. Jongdae offered to give him a painkiller for the deep gash on his cheek, but he declined, since it would probably only get worse from then on.

The two began traveling north-east, since their devices indicated that was the way to Seoul. They were on high alert, especially when they had to take longer paths out of their way since radiation in some locations was too high. After walking for what seemed like hours, the two made it to a dilapidated city. What once looked like a convenience store was to their left. The windows were blown out, and the remnants of the roof were scattered on the broken concrete of the street. To their right was a grocery store. The grocery store fared much better. Though some of the windows were broken and part of the structure was gone, it was still standing upright. Sehun and Jongdae decided to look for any food items that had survived the apocalypse and, more than likely, raiders. The door to the grocery store was chained shut, so Sehun carefully made his way through a broken window, helping Jongdae in after he safely got in. The lights in the grocery store faintly lit their surroundings, flickering on and off. Jongdae pointed to an aisle further back that looked like it had a few cans of non-perishables left. They stepped over an opened bread bag, opting to not pick it up when the warning on their L-1485 went off for RF, or Red Force. It indicated that the unopened cans were free from RF, so Jongdae tossed them in the canvas bag he had over his shoulder. They continued on through the grocery store, finding cans on the groind occasionally. For the most part, the place was emptied out.

The two stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the ‘employees only’ door cracked open. The light inside was much brighter than the rest of the store, so a shadow of an individual moving inside was prominent. They inched closer, and sure enough, they heard voices.

“Are you going to tell us, or not? Where can we find your bunker, kid?” A voice spat out.

“Like hell I’ll tell you morons. I’d rather die.” Another voice said.

A sound of a chair being pushed out was heard and a loud smack. Jongdae winced back at the sound and Sehun took his hand to comfort him.

“Very well then. We’ll send Jaehyun your regards. Or, better yet, we can bring him your head.” A deeper voice responded. Sehun and Jongdae looked at each other. They were only worried about raiders thus far, not members of the SOA. They knew what they had to do. Jongdae drew his pistol, and Sehun quietly took his bat out of his bag. Jongdae went before Sehun and managed to get close enough to the door to peer inside. Sehun crept behind him and used his height to look over Jongdae. A boy, seemingly in his early twenties, was sitting in a chair with his hands bound behind his back. He had blood coming from a bused lip and his temple; matting his dirty-blonde hair. There were two men dressed in all black and gas masks hovering over him, one grasping a police baton in his gloved hand.

While they had the advantage, they burst through the door and Jongdae aimed his gun at the official holding the baton. Sehun readied his bat at the other.

The officials exchanged a glance, ready to charge at the two. Before they could do so, Jongdae sent a shot into the armed official’s chest and Sehun slammed the baseball bat into the other’s skull. The shot official crumbled to the floor immediately. Sehun struggled to pull the bat from the other official’s head, as the nails were stuck in the flesh on his skull. Once he managed to pull it out, he hit him again, sending the SOA member into the wall. He slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood on the light blue walls along the way. Sehun watched until his chest stopped moving. Satisfied, he looked to the boy in the chair, who had a rather stoic expression on his face. Jongdae had already hurried to him and untied his hands. The boy walked to the corner of the room and collected the beige bag that was there.

The individual was about Jongdae’s height. He was wearing a black band tee with a red button up over it and crimson jeans. He was currently wiping his bleeding lip on the sleeve of his shirt.

“Thanks,” He started, “Who do I owe this pleasure to?”

“I’m Oh Sehun and the one that untied you is Kim Jongdae.” Sehun held out his hand for the boy to shake. The boy eyed the L-1485 on Sehun’s arm, but still took his hand to shake.

“Kim Minseok. Pleasure.” Minseok eyed the device once more, opting to not say anything.

“So, Minseok, where did you hide out during the apocalypse?” Jongdae asked.

“Incheon National University. Some of us had an underground bunker there. I’m the only one that made it out alive. Everyone else was an idiot and didn’t know how to protect themselves against that damned Power Armor.” Minseok sighed.

“Oh, you were a student there?” Jongdae asked.

“No, I was a substitute professor,” Minseok chuckled, “How old do you think I am? I’m 27.”

“You’re 27? Holy hell, you don’t look a day over twenty.”

“I get that a lot.” Minseok smiled at Jongdae.

“You said you encountered Power Armor?” Sehun asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable for butting into the conversation.

“Yeah, not the highlight of my life, but I did.” Minseok crossed his arms, watching as Sehun pressed a few buttons on his L-1485.

“How did you survive it?”

“It wasn’t easy. The trick is that enough damage on the body will weaken it’s defense system. Whether you use ammo or,” Minseok glanced to Sehun’s bloodied baseball bat, “two-handed weapons, you have to be really careful. When they first announced Power Armor, they acted like it was indestructible. But, there’s a trick to everything. I’ll show you what I mean.” Minseok looked to Jongdae and ushered him over with a flick of his index finger. Jongdae obliged. Minseok positioned Jondgae to face him.

“See, let’s say I’m in Power Armor and Jongdae is trying to kill me,” Minseok took Jongdae’s gun from the holster placed on his hip and put it in his hands, “The logical thing to do when you’re trying to kill someone is face them, right? When it comes to power armor, it’s the opposite. You enter the Power Armor from the back, and there’s a keypad to unlock it on the back. The trick is to get behind the Power Armor,” Minseok turned around and placed the muzzle of Jongdae’s gun on his left shoulder blade, “And shoot the keypad. That weakens the system. Combined with the previous damage, the Power Armor is much weaker, almost an inconvenience for the person in it. You can either pry the back open, or shoot through the glass on the head of the armor where the person inside can see. Since the protective wall on the armor is pretty much useless, you’ll hopefully shoot right through their skull.”

Minseok nodded at Jongdae to put his gun away and smiled at Sehun. Sehun pressed another button on his L-1485 and looked at Minseok.

“Does the Power Armor still look the same as it did on the announcement video from the SOA?” He asked.

“Yeah, exactly the same.”

The Power Armor the announcement video showed was a silver/gray color. It resembled a robot essentially, towering high, and the head of the armor looked like a gas mask from the 1920s, with far more protection.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask you a question. What the hell are those things on your wrists?” Minseok asked, pointing at the on Sehun’s wrist.

“It’s called an L-1485,” Jongdae started, “What Sehun was doing was inputting the information you had on Power Armor in it, if I’m not mistaken,” Jongdae looked expectantly at Sehun, who nodded at Jongdae, confirming what he was doing, “We got these from the creator of the vault we were in, Ito Jun. He spent years creating them and gathering information on the SOA. Sehun and I had been, as well. Sehun has been writing down information about our suspicions on the SOA, ever since we knew something was up. A condensed version was put into these things,” Jongdae walked closer to Minseok, allowing the older to further examine the device, “So we can add to it whenever needed. There are other features in it too, which I’m sure you’ll see along the way.”

Minseok was holding Jongdae’s forearm, examining the L-1485. His expression of interest was amusing to Jongdae, who smiled slightly at his expression. Minseok put down Jongdae’s arm.

“I’ll find out along the way? Wait, you want me to come with you?” Minseok asked.

“Well, do you really have anywhere else to go?” Sehun asked.

Minseok nodded at that, “Fair point.”

He retrieved a dagger from his bag and put it in his belt holster. “Let’s go, we are burning daylight.”

The, now trio, made their way outside and walked on the broken road. Sehun held back, walking behind Jongdae and Minseok, who were immersed in a conversation. He kept a close eye out for anything suspicious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight reflection light from the setting sun on, what looked like wire. With a closer look, he saw a small blinking light.

“Stop!” Sehun yelled, rushing forward to yank the back of the older boy’s clothing and stopping them from moving forward.

“What was that for?” Jongdae asked, slight annoyance in his voice.

“Wire in front of you. Turret to your right.” Sehun used his baseball bat to point to the turret.

“Shit, thanks. We have to be more careful. How pathetic would it be to die by your own two feet during the apocalypse? If I’m going to go, I want it to be in a badass way.” Jongdae laughed.

Sehun elbowed him in the ribs, “Shut up, Dae. I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

Sehun retrieved the gun from his waist and drew it, pointing it at the turret. He shot it three times, sending mechanical pieces flying. Once the turret was eliminated, the wire fell to the ground, as well. Sehun put his gun back and they continued.

 …

“So,” Sehun started, opening a can of beans and dried meat that he had stuffed into his bag, “Have you seen any raiders yet?”

Minseok sat cross legged in front of him, arms resting behind him. The sky was now dark, and the only illumination they had was from a small fire Jongdae started using old notebooks they found in a destroyed shed hours earlier. Jongdae was perched on a tree trunk, trying to boil water in a pan for noodles.

“Yeah, first day out of the bunker, I did. They tried to, well, raid me. They were morons. Kinda felt bad for them, but not really. They’re human, so they’re easy to kill.” Minseok shrugged.

“What do you mean, they’re human? Are you indicating that there are zombies out here, or something?” Jongdae asked, cursing under his breath as boiling water splashed on his hand when he tossed the dried noodles into the pot.

“Not necessarily. What do you think happened to those hopped up on Red Force when the apocalypse happened? The drug made them too strong to die. That damn radiation got them pretty good, though. I call them ghouls. They kind of look like a decaying copse. Harder to kill, since they have an addiction to RF, but still manageable. Heard that some guy hid in a broken fridge when the apocalypse happened. Wasn’t on RF, but still looks like one of those ghouls. Not all of them are bad.”

Sehun set down the, now opened, can of beans, and divvied up the dried meat into three paper bowls. He did the same with the beans.

“Interesting. I wonder how many of those ghoul things that aren’t trying to strangle you are around. Or how many people that prepared for the apocalypse are trying to rebuild in towns.” Jongdae said.

“I’m sure we will find out eventually. There’s a place, couple miles out of the way from Seoul, that we should go to. One of my buddies that I was in the bunker with was talking about it. Supposedly had a ton of people cooped up in a bunker inside of a bank. They used the vaults to protect themselves. Pretty smart, huh? Minseok offered.

“Yeah.” Sehun muttered. Jaehyun’s voice echoed in his head.

_‘I guarantee no one is your friend in the apocalypse.’_

Sehun wondered if that was true. How many survivors were truly willing to risk their lives against the SOA? Would they want to join forces, or would they wait for people like Sehun and Jongdae do the dirty work and bask in their success? If they managed to succeed, that is. Sure, they were seemingly good fighters, Minseok included, but there was no doubt that the three of them would die against the whole SOA.

“Sehun, you okay?” Jongdae asked, serving him part of the finished noodles in another paper bowl.

Sehun snapped out of his daze and smiled at his best friend, “Yeah, sorry. Thanks.”

He handed Minseok and Jongdae the bowls he had prepared, and they tucked into their meal.

Finding a place to be able to sleep was rather difficult. It was between crawling underneath an upturned bus, or an ominous cave near, possibly radiated, water. They opted for the bus.

Crawling into the bus was rather easy, as it was upturned in sand, making it easy to slide in. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it wasn’t unbearable. Sehun turned on the radio on his L-1485 to keep updated.

Minseok had dozed off not long after they entered the bus.

“Poor guy must have been exhausted, trying to survive in this wasteland for days by himself.” Jongdae whispered, careful to not wake up the boy next to him.

“At least we found him. He seems like a decent guy.” Sehun looked over to Jongdae, whose face was illuminated by his L-1485 for Sehun to make out his Jongdae watching Minseok sleep peacefully.  

“Yeah.” Jongdae offered.

Sehun turned off his radio after a while, basking in the silence. He hoped he would be able to rest okay and, more importantly, survive the night. 

…

The trio did, in fact, survive the night. Sehun woke up first, noting for them to look for a shopping mall of some sorts, in hopes to find some blankets. The temperature was hardly tolerable in the bus, and Sehun knew it was only going to get worse. He looked over to Jongdae, who was sleeping in a position that would surely have lasting effects on his back during the day. Minseok’s leg was firmly planted under Jongdae’s back, probably numb from the lack of circulation.

Sehun looked to his L-1485. 7:44am. He let the Jongdae and Minseok rest until the next hour, and gently crawled over to wake up Jongdae. Minseok was already stirring by the time Sehun decided to wake up Jongdae.

“Dae, time to get up.” Sehun gently swiped Jongdae’s bangs off of his forehead.

 “Can you hurry up and move? My leg is numb.” Minseok groaned.

Jongdae squined an eye open and looked at Minseok. He moved his body up slightly and pushed Minseok’s leg out from underneath him.

“My back.” Jongdae whined.

“Turn around, I’ll try and crack it for you.” Sehun offered. Jongdae flipped over as well as he could in the upturned vehicle and Sehun straddled him, using his palms to apply pressure on Jongdae’s back. A satisfying and very audible cracking sound came from Jongdae’s back and he groaned.

“Dude, that sounded like your back split in two. That was probably heard all of the way in America.” Minseok joked. Jongdae clicked his tongue at the older and allowed Sehun to remove himself.

They grabbed their things and exited the vehicle. Minseok led them to the town he had mentioned the day before. They got their four hours later and looked around. The buildings were in far better condition than those in Incheon. They had managed to find an abandoned home with running water. They tested the water, and it was free of radiation. They all took it as an opportunity to shower. While Minseok was finishing up, Sehun searched the house with Jongdae. Sehun retrieved three blankets, and Jongdae found canned corned beef. Minseok emerged from the restroom, now blood free. His handsome features were far more prominent now that they were not masked by dried blood.  Once they enjoyed the canned meat for breakfast, they continued examining the town.

They all looked at each other when the faint sound of music was being emitted from a building. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a bar. The three entered and were greeted by the strong aroma of alcohol and cigarette smoke. They scanned the bar. Only one other person was in the bar and was sitting facing the wall. They sat at the bar counter instead and waited for a bartender.

Moments after sitting down, a ‘person’ emerged from the bar. Sehun eyed the individual. They looked exactly how Minseok depicted a ghoul looked. Leathery flesh was tacked onto bone and an uneven skintone gave the individual some color. The ghoul had a few strands of hair loosely hanging from their head, and the rest of was covered by a cowboy hat. When Minseok could feel Jongdae about to say something that could come off as insulting, he squeezed his thigh tightly enough to shut him up.

Nevertheless, the ghoul in front of formulated something with their mouth that seemed to weakly represent a smile

“Welcome to Kim Tavern! What can I get you gentleman?” It asked.

“The strongest damn thing you’ve got.” Jongdae said.

“Very well, and you two?” It eyed Minseok and Sehun.

“Vodka cranberry.” Minseok said.

“I’ll have a beer, please.” Sehun said,

The ghoul smiled once more and began making their drinks. Another ghoul came out from the, what Sehun assumed was, kitchen. This ghoul looked much more feminine. She was carrying a child, looking no more than three years old, and also a ghoul.

“Oh, customers! Are you all from the bank vault?” She asked.

“We are just travelers.” Minseok plainly stated.

“How far is the bank vault from here?” Jongdae asked, eyeing the woman.

“Oh, it’s just across! Did you not see on your way in? The building with the guard in front if it.”

Jongdae peered out the window and saw the bank. “Guess I didn’t.” He laughed lightly.

The ghoul placed their drinks on the counter in front of them, and excused himself to the back, telling them to ‘holler if they needed anything’.

Jongdae took a drink of the neon blue drink in front of him and winced.

“Jesus Christ, is there a whole bottle of vodka in this thing?” He covered his mouth.

Minseok took it from in front of Jongdae and tried it. “It’s good.”

“You’re crazy. That tastes like straight up rubbing alcohol. Sehun, you try it.” Jongdae pushed the toxic looking drink in front of Sehun.

Sehun took a drink and had a similar reaction to Jongdae.

“Here, you big baby. Take my drink.” Minseok handed Jongdae his drink and gulped down Jongdae’s. Sehun and Jongdae watched in awe.

“Are you even human?” Jongdae asked.

“Probably not.” Minseok offered.

Once they finished their drinks, they crossed the street to the bank.

As they approached, the guard in front of the door stood up straighter, eyeing the approaching group.

“Can I help you?” The guard said, crossing his arms.

“Just want to go in and talk to the survivors.” Minseok said, glaring at the guard. Sehun heard a faint beeping and looked down at his L-1485. A warning flashed on his screen, indicating that there was a high amount of RF in the vicinity. Sehun looked closer at the guard. The veins in his neck were bulging and he was sweating, despite the cool air outside. Though he was wearing long sleeves, Sehun could see the veins in his hands plump and prominent.

“Don’t think so. You’re not from here, so I suggest you keep on walking.” The guard responded, one of his hands snaking it’s way to the pistol leaning against the wall.

“Listen,” Minseok started, “We are all survivors. I suggest you don’t act like an idiot. Wouldn’t it be smart to make connections with other groups?”

Before the guard responded, Sehun pulled Minseok and Jongdae back and into the alley next to the bank.

“What the fuck, Sehun?” Minseok pushed him back.

“Hey, don’t push him.” Jongdae glared at Minseok.

“He was on RF. And, from the looks of it, he was having withdrawals. You couldn’t tell?” Sehun said, slightly offended at Minseok’s attitude.

“I thought the beeping was me leaving the map open,” Jongdae sighed. Sehun watched his eyes change to an expression of worry.

“Oh,” Minseok’s body loosened, slightly relaxing, “Didn’t realize. Sorry.” The sorry was basically forced, but Sehun acknowleged it, nonetheless.

“I suggest we get the hell out of dodge then, before we get killed.” Jongdae suggested.

“What about everyone inside? They’re going to die.” Sehun offered.

“Or, they could be in the same state that wackjob is.” Minseok retorted.

“He has a point, Hunnie.” Jongdae shyly said.

‘Hunnie?’ Sehun heard Minseok mutter under his breath. Sehun wasn’t paying attention. He was looking at the fire escape. Before Jongdae could say anything, he was already on the ladder. He put a finger to his lips when he got a dirty look from Minseok. Sehun climbed up the fire escape and made it to the window on the fifth floor. He peered in. Two people sat near the window, facing away from it. Sehun gently knocked on the glass. One of the males sitting inside turned around and looked at Sehun with a shocked expression. Sehun signaled for them to open the window. Surprisingly, the male did. As he was opening it, the taller male next to him turned, eyeing Sehun with the curiosity playing in his eyes.

“Hello?” The charcoal haired boy said.

“Hi, um,” Sehun looked down at his L-1485. No sign of RF on them, “This is going to sound crazy, but hear me out.”

“Who are you?” The taller, crimson-haired boy asked.

“My name is Oh Sehun. I hate to break it to you, but the guard protecting you guys is on Red Force. If you don’t leave soon, he’s going to take out everyone inside. I’m here with my friends and we wanted to try and get out as many people as possible before it’s too late. And, from the looks of it, you don’t have much time.”

The two inside looked at each other.

“And why should we trust you?” The shorter boy said, nibbling on his lip piercing.

“See this?” Sehun held up his wrist, showing them the L-1485, “This thing here can detect traces of RF. If I go into the history, you can see that there was high traces of RF in the past ten minutes. I was down there talking to that guard around that time. Has he been acting strange lately?”

“Well, yeah, but he always acts like that. He’s kind of a strange guy. Pissy. Easily angered.” The taller said.

“Wait,” The shorter said, “Does RF come in glass vials?” He asked.

“It does,” Sehun responded, slightly agitated at the two questioning him.

The dark-haired boy dug into his pocket and pulled out a vial. It was broken open at the bottom, but it was still recognizable to Sehun as an RF vial.

“That’s it. I wouldn’t touch that. Where did you get it?” Sehun asked.

The male tossed it out of his hands and looked at Sehun, “I share a room with the guard. We both do.” He pointed at the other male.

“You need to get out. Do you have everything you need?” Sehun moved a little bit away from the window to allow them out.

“Just our bags.” The taller pointed to the corner of the room.

“Grab them and come out on the fire escape. I’ll go in and try to get other survivors after you come out.”

Sehun watched the two scramble for their bags and have a hushed conversation with each other.

_“I can’t believe we are trusting a stranger.” The taller boy said to the shorter._

_“He pretty much gave us proof that we are going to die if we don’t get out of here now.” The other responded._

_“I know, but I guess I’m just scared. The world out there is so dangerous, and I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”_

_“Don’t worry. Let’s stick together and we will be okay. Fighting!” The smaller held up a fist, his eyes forming into crescents._

They made it out onto the fire escape, and Sehun told them to go down and wait with Jongdae and Minseok. Sehun glanced down at Jongdae, who was looking at the front of the bank with a panicked expression. Minseok was pulling him back. They simultaneously looked up at Sehun and signaled danger. Sehun went into the building, ignoring the warning signs. He rushed down the stairs and to the second floor, where he heard noise. He opened the door enough to be able to see. The floor was drenched in blood. Sehun could see bodies littering the ground and at least four people with the same withdrawals he saw the guard having. Sehun shut the door and dashed back up the stairs. He crawled out of the window and slammed it shut, taking two steps at a time down the fire escape.

“We have to go.” Sehun said, leading the group away from the town. They all ran for what felt like miles and finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

“What did you see?” The red-haired boy from the bank asked.

“Red Force withdrawals. Blood was everywhere. You two were lucky to be on the fourth floor, otherwise you would be dead.”

The two looked at each other.

“You saved our lives,” The other said, “What’s your name again?”

“I’m Oh Sehun. Cat eyes is Kim Minseok, and the other is Kim Jongdae.”

“I’m Byun Baekhyun and that is Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun said. Baekhyun and Chanyeol bowed to Sehun graciously and turned to Minseok and Jongdae to bow.

“Pleasure.” Sehun responded.

“Um, where do we go now?” Chanyeol asked, clearly stressed.

“You’re more than welcome to join us, but we have a long road ahead of us.” Sehun said.

Chanyeol looked to Baekhyun, “Do you know of any safehouses or bunkers? I just want to keep Baekhyun safe.”

Sehun looked on his L-1485 to try and detect a safehouse, but there was no luck. He shook his head sadly.

“Wait, I know a place. It’s in Seoul. That’s where I was initially headed before I met these two.” Minseok said, “You know Exodus Hotel?”

“Yeah, I have stayed there before.” Baekhyun responded, a glimmer of hope in his voice.

“It’s a safehouse. The owner converted it into one supposedly. ‘Least that’s what I heard.”

“Then I guess that’s where we should go,” Chanyeol said, “But that’s pretty far on foot from here.”

Sehun looked at his device once more, “There’s an auto repair store less than a mile from here. Let’s see if we can get anything working.”

The group walked in silence to the auto shop, the only sound coming from Sehun’s radio. When they finally made it, Sehun’s heart deflated when he saw that every car on the lot was now a carcass.

Jongdae put a hand on his shoulder, “I know it’s looking grim, but don’t give up. I’m going to go inside and check.”

“Want me to come with you?” Sehun asked.

“No, stay here with them. I’m going to go see if they have a safe.”

Sehun nodded and watched Jongdae go into the auto repair shop. It wasn’t hard to do, since there was a hole in the wall. Sehun moved to comfort Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

Some time had passed and Jongdae had not returned. Sehun looked at the building in concern. Just as he started to get up, he heard the rev of an engine. From the hole in the wall emerged Jongdae with a dusty motorcycle.

“Sorry it took so long, but look what I found under the rubble!” Jongdae smiled widely.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun jumped up and Minseok remained on the ground, leaning against a metal pipe, and smoking a cigarette. Where he got it, Sehun had no idea.

“Have you ever driven a motorcycle?” Jongdae asked.

“Hell yeah I have.” Chanyeol responded.

“Then take this. Go to Exodus Hotel. I had the radio on in there and heard a message from them. It’s legitimate.”

“What about you guys?” Baekhyun asked.

“Don’t worry about us, we will find a way.” Sehun smiled at them. It’s not like the five of them could fit on the bike anyway.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol mounted the motorcycle.

“Thank you again, we owe you guys our lives.” Chanyeol looked at them.

“Maybe we will see you guys again sometime.” Baekhyun said hopefully.

“I hope so, then we can take down that damn SOA together.” Jongdae smiled.

“That we could. Take care of yourselves.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun waved to the three. Minseok took a drag of his cigarette and saluted them as they left.

“God, I hope they made it.” Jongdae frowned.

“Me too, Dae, me too.”

…

The trio trudged on. The auto repair shop was dangerously close to a radiated city, so they had to go further out of their way to ensure their safety.

“God damn, this is exhausting.” Minseok mumbled.

“We can take a break soon,” Sehun said, looking at the map. From the looks of it, they could make it to Seoul in a few days. They nearly spent all day walking and he would opt for not sleeping until they made it to Seoul, but he knew that the others wouldn’t be excited about not getting sleep. They decided to focus more on finding a safe place to sleep that night, rather than continuing on their journey. The maps had updated, indicating that they were nearing a forest.

Sure enough, the sad excuse of a forest entered their line of vision as they continued heading north-east. The trees that absorbed moisture more than the others were in better condition. A few leaves hung from the branches, nearly blackened from the nuclear radiation. Sehun reached for one, taking it in between his index finger and thumb. The leaf crumbled into his hand, turning into ash and staining his fingers. He sighed to himself, brushing the remnants on his jeans.

“Up ahead. I think I see a shack or something.” Jongdae pointed. Minseok and Sehun’s eyes followed his direction. A small shack, probably half the size of a studio apartment in Seoul, stood in front of them. The condition it was in left the wood littered with small holes, yet the shack only leaned slightly to the right. It looked sturdy enough for them to stay in. Jongdae jogged ahead of them and entered the shack.

A loud crash was heard inside of the shack. The holes were too small to see through, and the door opening was out of their line of vision. Minseok and Sehun looked at each other and ran toward the entrance. Jongdae was pinned against the wall with, what looked to be, a black bear hovering over him. Sehun had yet to notice, but the bear’s teeth were sunk deep into Jongdae’s side. When the creature sensed movement, it lifted it’s head up and eyed Minseok, who was ahead of Sehun. Minseok had already drawn his gun and sent a bullet into the creature’s back. Sehun was next to take his pistol and send countless shots into the animal. He didn’t care if he wasted ammo, Jongdae meant more to him than his own life. The creature’s energy didn’t seem to wear. Minseok and Sehun backed out of the shack, luring the large creature out with them. Another shot was sent into the creature’s spine, this time, not from Minseok or Sehun. The creature collapsed and Jongdae was revealed behind it, gun pointing in it’s direction. He was still on the ground clasping his side. The two rushed in after Minseok used a piece of concrete outside to smash the creature’s skull in, assuring them it was dead.

“Jondgae, move your hands.” Sehun said, pulling up Jongdae’s shirt. His usually toned stomach was now drenched in blood. Sehun eyed the shack, looking for something to wipe up the blood. Minseok was already ahead of him, rushing up to the bed and pulling off the sheets. Minseok used them to sop up the blood on Jongdae’s body. Jongdae was gripping Sehun’s hand tightly, his eyes shut just as tightly. Sehun used his other hand to go into Jongdae’s bag and pulled out a bottle of painkillers, administering the proper dose to Jongdae. Jongdae took them dry, and opened his eyes to look at Sehun.

“I’m fine, I really am.” Jongdae said, in a not very promising voice. He started to try and get up, and was pushed back with a strong hand on his chest.

“No, you’re not,” Minseok flatly stated, keeping his hand on Jongdae’s chest to hold him down, and using the other to wipe the blood. Sehun looked at the wound, now easier to see without the blood. Luckily, the bear was distracted by Minseok and Sehun, otherwise it could have been much worse. Fatal, even. Minseok retrieved his dagger and cut the sheet into thin strips.

“Can you lift up your midsection on your own, or do you need help?” Minseok asked, his usual aggression replaced with genuine concern.

“I can try,” Jongdae said, attempting to use his elbows to prop himself up. A painful expression struck his face, “I don’t think so. I’m sorry I got us into this mess.”

“Will you shut up?” Minseok snapped, “You didn’t do anything wrong, so shut the fuck up and let us fix you up.”

Jongdae didn’t attest to Minseok’s request and laid quietly as Minseok handed Sehun the strips of the sheet and asked him to wrap them around Jongdae’s midsection as he propped him up. Minseok hovered over Jongdae, placing one arm underneath his shoulder blades, and the other on his lower back. Sehun took the linen and began wrapping the pieces around Jongdae’s injury. Once a solid layer was formed, Sehun tied off the fabric. Sehun and Minseok lifted Jongdae and placed him on the bed.

“Let’s stay here for the night, alright? I’ll prepare some food.” Sehun stood up from the edge of the bed.

While Sehun built a fire outside and fried a mystery meat that came in a square can, Minseok stayed inside to talk with Jongdae, distracting him from his injury. He helped Jongdae change into a black turtleck that was blood-free.

Sehun brought in the meat and opened a tin of canned potatoes on the side. They ate in a comfortable silence. Jongdae fell asleep not long after their meal was completed, so Sehun reminded himself to scavenge the shack in the morning, so he wouldn’t wake up his best friend doing it then. Minseok fell asleep not long after, sitting on the floor with his head resting on the thin mattress. Sehun draped the blankets he had found prior over them and sat outside next to the fire. It was dying down, but he wanted to use as much of the warmth as possible before it was gone.

The fire must have been relaxing, because it also lulled him to sleep.

Sehun was awoken a few hours later to pressure being put on his body. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a rabid dog or ghoul on him, but instead, he was met with the face of a boy. He was illuminated the screen of Sehun's L-1485. The boy was straddling Sehun and had a dagger to his throat.

The boy looked as if he was attempting to have an intimidating expression, but fear was painted all over his face.

“Look, I’m not in the mood to hurt you. Just give me what you have and I’ll be on my way.” The boy said, his blonde hair hanging in his eyes.

Sehun quirked an eyebrow and looked at him.

“And what makes you think I’m scared of you?” Sehun asked. Not many things scared Sehun, and this boy certainly wasn’t going to either.

“Dude, I’m literally holding a knife to your throat. I could kill you if I wanted.” The boy retorted, his kneecaps digging into Sehun’s sides.

“Three against one isn’t very fair for you, now is it?” Sehun looked at the other expressionless.

“You mean to tell me you’re not here alone?” The boy faltered, letting his guard down.

“Nope.” Sehun said as he pushed the boy off of him and went to his waist for his pistol. The boy grinned and waved Sehun’s pistol in his hand.

“Looking for this?” The boy said, pointing it at Sehun.

Even with a gun pointed at him, Sehun wasn’t too concerned. He had fast reflexes and a dagger. Sehun took his dagger from his back pocket and eyed the boy.

“I was, but I have this.” Sehun said. The boy cocked the gun, and Sehun ducked, tacking the boy down to the ground. A gunshot went off, grazing Sehun’s neck.

“What the fuck,” Sehun heard Minseok say from inside the shack.

Sehun grabbed both of the boy’s wrists and held them above his head.

The boy eyed Sehun, his gaze penetrating him. Sehun smirked down at the other.

“Doesn’t it just suck when things don’t go your way?” Sehun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Minseok emerged from the shack and rushed over to Sehun.

“Who the hell is this kid?” Minseok shivered slightly. Sehun lifted himself up, keeping a firm grasp on one of the boy’s wrists.

“Who are you calling kid? I’m 27.” The boy said.

“Yeah, so am I.” Minseok crossed his arms, “Get him inside.”

Sehun bent down to pick up his gun and they all headed inside the shack. Minseok cornered the boy while Sehun used an extra strip of fabric to tie around the injury on his neck.

Jongdae looked up from the bed, mustering all of his energy to lift his upper body to watch the events unfolding.

“What do you want?” Minseok asked. Sehun was glad that Minseok was more intimidating than Sehun. Minseok and Sehun were both quiet, but when Minseok was angry, he made it aware to everyone.

“Look, I was just wandering around and I saw that guy on the ground next to a fire. I was running low on supplies, so I asked kindly for him to give me everything he had.”

Sehun scoffed and glared at the blonde. Sehun stood next to Minseok, hovering over the mysterious boy.

“So, you really expected him to just drop everything he has for you?” Minseok asked.

“Pretty much, yeah. I may not look like it, but I am pretty intimidating and I’ve made it this far on my own.” The male said.

“Alright, kid. You see this guy?” Minseok gestured at Sehun, “He literally has resting bitch face. And you have the face of some sort of baby, or angel, or something. You think he would be intimidated by you?” Minseok laughed.

“I mean, yeah, he kind of does have the face of an asshole. Look, it was dark outside.” The boy grinned at Minseok’s remark.

Sehun was slightly offended, but he didn’t show it. He didn’t look that much like an asshole, did he?

“Fine, I’ll give you that. You’re not from around here, are you?” Minseok asked.

“No, I was interning when this whole shitshow of an apocalypse happened. Guess that stupid office was pretty structurally sound for this thing.” He sighed.

Minseok was surprisingly welcoming to the boy who had just tried to raid them and shoot Sehun.

“What’s your name?” Minseok asked.

“Lu Han. “Lu Han said, not even bothering to bow.

“Ah, you’re Chinese? That makes sense. Your Korean doesn’t sound natural.”

“Hey, don’t be an asshole,” Lu Han scoffed, “Anyway, I gotta go. I won’t bother you guys or bitch face anymore.” Lu Han said, pushing past Sehun and Minseok.

“Stay.” Jongdae said from the bed.

“What?” Sehun and Lu Han said in unison.

“Stay,” Jongdae repeated, “You’re going to die out there alone.”

“Says the one who looks injured as fuck,” Lu Han crossed his arms, “Why would I want to stay with you guys?”

  
“Jongdae has a point,” Minseok noted, “Clearly you’re shit at defending yourself and it’s better to form groups. Plus, we have supplies.”

Lu Han looked as if he was rolling around the idea in his head, “Look, I’m just trying to get to Seoul and blow Jaehyun’s brains out. I doubt you all have the same intentions.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what we have planned.” Sehun finally spoke.

Lu Han looked at him, shocked. “For real?” He asked.

“Yep,” Jongdae started, “Sehun and I were on our way to Seoul when we ran into Minseok and he became part of our group.”

“And, if you want to pussy out, you can go to Exodus. They’re a safehouse close to the SOA.” Minseok added.

“I’m not going to pussy out, what the hell,” Lu Han eyed Minseok, “I guess I’ll tag along, then.”

Jongdae nodded, pleased at Lu Han’s agreement. He relaxed back on the bed and Minseok went over to him with more painkillers.

“What happened to him?” Lu Han asked, approaching the bed as well.

“Some radiated bear of some sorts attacked him.” Minseok stated, keeping his eyes on Jongdae as he took the pills.

“Yao Guai.” Lu Han said.

“What did you call me?” Minseok looked to Lu Han.

“No,” Lu Han ran a hand through his hair, “The bear, that’s called a Yao Guai. Nocturnal bear things that roam the wasteland. You’re lucky it was by itself. Those fuckers are ruthless and lethal in groups.”

“How do you know that?” Sehun asked. Lu Han looked over to Sehun and furrowed his brow as he watched the taller fiddle with the device on his wrist.

“First of all, what on Earth is that on your wrist? Secondly, I have done some research. Hacked into a terminal I found in a hospital. Turns out that one of the members of the SOA worked at the hospital and was stupid enough to not delete the information from the database. I also found some locked up Red Force. Guess the guy from the SOA was pretending to be a doctor and administering the drug.” Luhan sat in a flimsy wooden chair that was next to the foot of the bed.

“Damn. You didn’t even know that, Sehun.” Jongdae eyed Lu Han, “If you’re interested in all of his government stuff, you’re going to love this guy,” Jongdae nodded at Sehun, “He’s the walking encyclopedia for all of this."

“Apparently not, since he didn’t know what I just told him,” Lu Han chucked to himself, “So, Sehun, you going to explain that thing on your wrist?”

Sehun gave an exasperated sigh, but nevertheless, sat next to Lu Han to fill him in on the L-1485.

…

Sehun didn’t remember falling asleep after his encounter with Lu Han, but he woke up on the floor in the morning. He was the only one in the shack. He looked at his L-1485. 7:15am.

His curiosity as to where his group went was resolved when he heard laughter outside. He stood up and walked outside, leaning against the doorframe when he saw Minseok approach from the eradicated forest.

“Hey, you’re up.” Minseok said. Jongdae appeared behind him, and Lu Han in tow as well. Sehun was surprised he didn’t run away in the middle of the night with all of their stuff.

“Sorry, it was kind of difficult sleeping last night after being woken up.” Sehun sent a glare in Lu Han’s direction, though it went unnoticed by him.

“There’s a pond over there, radiation free,” Minseok stated while attempting to shake out his wet hair, “It’s cold as fuck with this weather, but it does the job.”

Sehun nodded and headed for the pond, bushing past Lu Han.

Sehun bathed in the pond as quickly as he could, teeth chattering from the cool water. He made sure to clean his neck wound to prevent it from getting infected. He scrubbed away the dried bits of blood that were on the wound on his cheek. It probably got aggravated when he and Lu Han had their tuft. He used his blanket to dry off his body, opting to not dry his hair because the blanket would more than likely take too long to dry in the cold weather. He redressed and made his way back to the shack.

He ripped another piece of sheet and wrapped it around his neck. Lu Han watched him do so, mentally feeling slightly sorry for Sehun, since he was the cause of the injury.

“How are you feeling, Dae?” Sehun asked, ruffling his friend’s wet hair.

“A lot better. We have Jun to thank for those painkillers and Minseok helped me clean out the wound.” Jongdae lifted up his shirt to show Sehun the clean injury. Instead of blood, he had harshly colored bruises tracing the outlines of the teeth indentations.

“Are you trying to show me your six-pack, or are you trying to show me your injury?” Sehun joked. Jongdae had subconsciously lowered the waistline of his jeans, so Sehun could get a better look at the injury.

“Why are we friends again?” Jongdae playfully hit Sehun’s shoulder and fixed his shirt. He put his trenchcoat back on and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Because you love me.” Sehun said. He opened his bag and took out breakfast bars he had been saving. He only had three, so he handed them to Minseok, Jongdae, and Lu Han.

“You’re lucky I do.” Jongdae opened up the bar and took a bite.

Lu Han took the bar from Sehun’s hand.

“Thanks,” He murmered, “And, sorry about your neck, I guess.”

“No biggie. Almost forgot about it already.” Sehun stated, looking at Lu Han. Sehun’s stare went on for a bit longer than it should, indicating that Sehun was being passive aggressive and it actually hurt like a bitch. He hoped it came across that way.

Lu Han looked away and down at the breakfast bar, fiddling with the edge of the foil.

Sehun took the time the others were eating to search the shack. He sighed in defeat when he found nothing. In a last resort, he stood on the wooden chair to look on top of the broken fridge in the corner of the shack. Nothing was on top, but the weight of Sehun on the chair and the brittle wood caused the chair to break through the ground. Sehun tumbled down and collapsed onto the floor near the bed.

Instead of grumbling about the pain he was surely in, since his hip went directly into the iron frame of the bed, he wiped off his jeans and looked into the hole.

“Jackpot.” Sehun said.

He moved the chair and used his L-1485 to illuminate the hole in the ground. MREs from the Korean War were boxed up and put into the ground. Alongside that were documents, which Sehun took out. The last object was a backpack. Inside of it was a pouch of coins, and nothing else. Sehun still retrieved it and put it on the floor next to him. The group had finished their bars at that point, and focused their attention on what the youngest was doing.

Sehun placed the MREs in the backpack. There were a lot of different meals that would last them a deal of time. Someone must have hidden them there for good reason. Sehun flipped through the documents.

“April 21st, 2019,” Sehun started, “From Hoseok’s predictions, we have less than four years until the apocalypse. I don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like everyone thinks I’m crazy because I’m ‘too young to know what I’m talking about’ and my father is part of the SOA. I know what I saw, I have known since I was a kid. Dad may have been secretive with his work, but I was, and always have been, too curious for my own good. Dad was writing about something called Red Force that is in the works. I don’t know what it means, but it can’t be good.” Sehun paused and pulled out the next paper from the documents. “November 22, 2020. There isn’t much time now. Dad was on the phone with the SOA and I think he forgot I was home. They were talking about nuclear weapons and some sort of super weapon called Power Armor. They have new patents for it. When dad left, I went into his study. I know I shouldn’t have, but I found the patents for the first production of Power Armor. I stole them. I copied down as many of his notes as I could before he came back. They’re on the next page. I know he’s my family, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Sehun cleared his throat, “September 8th, 2022.”

“That was just over a month ago.” Jongdae practically whispered. He quieted so Sehun could continue.

“Mom’s dead. I know dad is the cause. I know the SOA is. The doctor’s told her that her cancer was gone after her surgery and she would make a full recovery. They gave her a miracle drug that was supposed to be in place of her radiation. Now she’s dead, three days after they told her she would be okay. I have no doubt in my mind it was the first strain of Red Force. I’ve been talking to the owner of Exodus Hotels. I met him when I was staying in Seoul one weekend. We got onto the topic of the government. He told me he was making his hotel into a safehouse. It’s much safer than this damned shack. I’m going there as soon as possible. It’s not like dad will even notice I’m gone. I’m leaving everything I have here. It will either be destroyed in the apocalypse, or someone will find it. If I die, my name is Kim Junmyeon and my father is Kim Wonshik, vice-president of the SOA.”

The room was filled with silence.

“Holy shit,” Minseok said, “Holy shit!” Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s shoulders and shook them excitedly.

“Fuck, am I glad I stayed with you guys.” Lu Han eyed the papers Sehun was holding in amazement.

Sehun flipped through the papers and found the blueprints. He also found the notes Junmyeon wrote down and input them in his L-1485. He wished Jun could see them.

“You know what this means, right?” Jongdae started.

“We need to find Junmyeon.” Sehun answered, finishing his sentence.

Sehun stuffed the papers in his bag and added some of the food he had in his bag to the bag he found to make space in his own bag. He gave Lu Han the bag with the MREs and non-perishables.

Now that the group knew they needed to make it to Exodus, they had a set path. They would try to stop at every city on the way, and hopefully make it to Exodus within three days.

The group was now on their way, Jongdae doing surprisingly well walking, despite his injuries. Jongdae was a bit slower walking, so Sehun held back with him and Lu Han and Minseok walked ahead. Sehun preferred it that way anyway, since he wasn’t the biggest fan of the new addition to their group.

“He’s not that bad.” Jongdae said, seemingly hearing Sehun’s internal monologue.

Sehun looked at his best friend, “Did he try to slice your neck and rob you when you were sleeping? Did he accidentally shoot you in the neck? Didn’t think so,” Sehun didn’t mean to snap, but he hadn’t eaten much in the past few days and was pissed, “Sorry, Dae. I know you mean well.”

Jongdae gave his signature catlike smile to Sehun, “I know, Hunnie. I think he’s just scared. Imagine being in a foreign country and all of this stuff happens. You don’t know anyone and have to fend for yourself.”

Sehun nodded. Jongdae did have a point.

“And, I mean, look at him. I know he puts up a tough front, but he’s warm on the inside. We all have been up for quite a while and Minseok and I got to know him a bit. He’s a fighter. I’m actually kind of glad we ran into him. He would get taken advantage of if it wasn’t for us. Look at him, he has the face of a prince and he comes off quite vulnerable. Like I said, I know you’re not the biggest fan, but you have a big heart. You would risk your own life for other people and I know you’ll do everything you can to protect him, even if he is a stranger.”

Sehun hated when Jongdae was right. He put too much trust in people sometimes, even if he didn’t show it. When Sehun was in his sophomore year of high school, he encountered a classmate he had maybe two conversations with getting bullied, and Sehun stepped in. The boy who was getting bullied was in impeccable condition after, but Sehun came out of the fight with a broken arm and a bruised ribcage. The kid never talked to him after that, but Sehun risked himself for the guy.

“The question is, will he warm up to me?  I don’t know why he’s treating me poorly when he attacked me. He’s nice to you guys, but he’s rude to me.” Sehun sighed in defeat.

“Give him time.” Was all Jongdae said.

The four made a stop in a town on the direct path to Seoul. Unlike the other places they visited, it was destroyed. Only a parking garage remained, and parts of that were crumbling.

“Did you hear that?” Minseok suddenly said.

“Hear what?” Lu Han asked.

“Whistling.” Minseok whispered back.

The group hushed and, sure enough, a faint whistling was heard. The four began to back up, so they wouldn’t be in the middle of the street.

“Hey now,” A voice boomed. It came from the parking garage, “Where are you going? It’s play time!”

They eyed the parking garage to see a group of six pop out from the opening on the garage, all wearing gas masks.

“Fuck, we have some raiders on our hands.” Minseok drew his gun. The rest of the group did the same.

Lu Han walked to the center of the road, grinning up at them.

“What the hell is that kid doing?” Minseok eyed Lu Han.

“I think he’s wiser than we think.” Jongdae responded.

“What? You’re going to shoot from up there? Don’t you think that’s an unfair advantage? If you’re going to kill me, don’t you want to put up a good fight?” Lu Han put the hand with the gun up innocently. From the group’s angle, they could see Lu Han’s other hand snaking it’s way to a small satchel hooked onto his belt. He pulled something out of it.

“Holy shit, this kid is a genius.” Minseok watched in awe.

What Lu Han pulled out was a grenade. He pulled the pin.

“The apocalypse isn’t about fairness, sweetheat.” One of the females said.

“I know, that’s why I have to do this.” Lu Han chucked the grenade as far as he could. It landed perfectly where the group was.

“What th-“ The voice was cut off by a glass-shattering explosion. The entirety of the parking garage went down with it. Lu Han wiped the non-existent dust off of his shoulder and turned on his heel to the group.

“Let’s carry on.” Lu Han cracked his knuckles.

“See, you confuse me. You can kill six people without a hair on your head being hurt, but you opted to not slit Sehun’s throat.” Jongdae shook his head, chuckling.

Sehun decided to not say anything. Did Lu Han pretend to be weak against Sehun, or was Sehun stronger than Lu Han? Either way, Lu Han could have done far more damage on the younger boy. Sehun chalked it up as Lu Han looking for company while trekking the wasteland and testing the waters by threatening Sehun to see his abilities. Sehun determined that he needed to be on higher alert around the older.

They passed by another city and it was almost empty, not including a man sitting on the curb of a road, surrounded by empty vials of Red Force.

“Please,” the man said as the group passed, “I need RF. I beg of you.”

The man looked surprisingly weak for someone who was on Red Force. He looked like he was in his early thirties, the face of a handsome man masked by dirt and greasy hair. Sehun felt a pang of guilt as they walked by the man. A further inspection allowed Sehun to see that both of the man’s legs were broken. They were past him, but Sehun kept sneaking glances back at he man, now leaning against a crooked streetpost in defeat. When he looked back ahead, he met Lu Han’s glance. Lu Han looked away. Sehun couldn’t decipher the look, but it seemed as if he felt guilty, as well.

“I swear, if we can find a pharmacy with non-radiated cigarettes, I’ll jump for joy.” Minseok pulled a cigarette out of the carton in his bag and lit it.

“There has to be some somewhere,” Jongdae offered, “Though that would just be contributing to your disgusting habit.”

“What? You don’t like guys that smoke? Won’t want to kiss me, sweet cheeks?” Minseok grinned.

“You’re disgusting.” Jongdae clicked his tongue. He held onto Sehun’s shoulder for support when his side began to hurt.

“Hey, get on my back.” Sehun offered to Jongdae.

“I’m too heavy. It’s already hard enough to walk all day, let alone have me holding you down.” Jongdae stated.

“Dae, you’re like a feather. The weights at the gym are heavier than you.” Sehun looked at Jongdae with an expression indicating he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Jongdae whined, but got on Sehun’s back. Sehun continued on, now catching up with Minseok and Lu Han.

As they were walking through the next town, they saw a broken motorcycle under some rubble.

“Chanyeol, Baekhyun,” Sehun whispered, “I hope that’s not them.”

Jongdae rested his chin on Sehun’s shoulder, “I don’t see any bodies. Let’s hope it’s not.”

“Hey, isn’t that a supermarket?” Lu Han pointed forward. The sign was buried under a mound of trash, but it read RX. They made their way to the front of the pharmacy, Lu Han nudging the door open gently and using his flashlight to illuminate the interior.

“It looks like no one’s inside. I can go in with you and the two injured can stay outside.” Lu Han eyed Jongdae’s facial expression as he hopped off of Sehun’s back and sat on the curb of the street.

“Are you sure? What if there’s an emergency?” Sehun asked.

“I can hold my ground, thanks.” Lu Han nearly spat, and put his hand on the small of Minseok’s back to push him into the pharmacy.

Sehun pulled out more pain relievers for Jongdae and a purified bottle of water he had stored in his bag. He also handed Jongdae a chocolate bar to take with the medication. As Jongdae ate his treat, Sehun checked his neck. The blood had oozed through the wrapping on his neck, and Sehun told himself he would change it later. He tightened the wrapping, just enough that it wasn’t choking him and put a hand on Jongdae’s thigh, craning his neck so he could see Jongdae’s expression.

“How are you holding in there, Dae?” Sehun smiled at his best friend.

Jongdae gently sighed, “I’m okay, just stressed. I don’t want to hold you guys back. I feel bad for being so useless in a time like this. I wasn’t expecting to have a group this big, but I’m happy at the same time.”

Sehun nodded, “I understand. But I want to let you know that you are not holding us back. It’s always been the two of us and you know damn well that I won’t leave you behind, even if you beg.”

Jongdae’s eyes almost watered at Sehun’s comment. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

The two laughed and Sehun hugged Jongdae’s side.

“Oww,” Was quietly heard as Minseok and Lu Han exited the pharmacy.

Just as Jongdae looked up from leaning his head on Sehun’s, Minseok answered his thoughts, holding up a carton of cigarettes. “Turns out people would rather have RF than cigarettes. My whole bag is filled.” Minseok smirked.

Lu Han pulled down the sleeve of his sweatshirt, a small amount of blood on the fingers that he used to pull down his sleeves. When Sehun watched him, Lu Han sent him a glare and pulled on the flannel around his waist.

Sehun didn’t bother questioning the shorter and got up, taking Jongdae’s hands to help him. He glanced at his L-1485, as it lit up slightly. A small percentage of RF was in the vicinity. Sehun attributed it to broken vials most likely in the pharmacy and ignored it.

Once again, their trip was prolonged, as a strong haze of radiation prevented them from continuing north-east. Instead, they had to go west two miles to avoid the radiation and then continue on.

The rest of the day revolved around killing radiated bugs that Lu Han informed them were called Botflies and walking. The next day was the same. The only difference was that they had found a well with drinkable and bathe able water.

The morning went the same as usual, with Minseok and Sehun preparing breakfast. Jongdae was feeling less pain, which the rest of the group was grateful for. Sehun’s neck had started to form a scab, so he simply kept gauze on it. Lu Han still gave Sehun the cold shoulder, but warmed up to Jongdae and Minseok.

They set out at eight in the morning. Since they were still too far west, they hoped to make it to the same distance they were from Seoul two days ago that day.

The temperature was decreasing each day, with today being the coldest since the beginning of the nuclear fallout. Sehun was surprised to see the hair on Lu Han’s forehead lightly moistened with sweat. His hands were tucked deeply in his pockets, and he scratched at his neck periodically, already forming a rash.

Though Sehun knew how Lu Han would react, he fell back from Minseok and Jongdae to walk with him.

“Hey, are you alright?” Sehun asked, turning to look at Lu Han.

Lu Han looked at Sehun. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and Sehun now noticed that his ears were red.

“What are you implying? I’m peachy. Now kindly piss off before I punch you.” Lu Han growled, taking his hand out of his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His veins were protruding, and his palms were red.

He looked forward to see Jongdae and Minseok inspecting, what looked like, an abandoned apartment complex.

“Yeah, you know what, I am implying that you look off. You’re usually a jerk, but you look like you could actually kill me today.”

“If it wasn’t for those two, I swear I would have killed you long ago.”

Sehun’s eyes widened, but he quickly relaxed. Lu Han had never openly spoke that badly about Sehun. Sehun raised a hand and placed it on Lu Han’s shoulder to stop him in his place.

“You can talk to me about whatever is bothering you. I know you hate me, but I want to help.” Sehun said.

“Get your fucking hand off of me right now, you fucking asshole.” Lu Han used all of his strength to push Sehun back. Lu Han had more strength that he usually did.

After looking at Lu Han in shock, he put the puzzle pieces together. He approached him and grabbed his hand that he saw bleeding two days prior. The injury was littered with broken capillaries. He looked at his L-1485.

“You’re having RF withdrawls.” Sehun tightened his grip on Lu Han’s small wrist.

“How would that happen? I don’t take Red Force, you idiot.” Lu Han remarked. Though he was shooting daggers at Sehun, fear was still evident in his eyes. The Red Force had taken over Lu Han’s personality for the most part, but part of him was still attempting to come out.

“Did you get cut in the pharmacy? What cut you, Lu Han?” Sehun asked in a careful tone.

“I got cut on a broken milk bottle when I was reaching for some of the cigarettes, but I didn’t think RF would be on it. Are you messing with me?”

Lu Han used his other hand to scratch intensely at his neck, blood collecting underneath his fingernails. At that point, Minseok and Jongdae turned around, starting to mention something about the apartment complex.

Sehun knew that there was almost a non-existent chance of Lu Han surviving the withdrawals of Red Force. He tried to grab Lu Han’s other wrist, but Lu Han kicked him in the stomach, causing him to crumble for the ground. Lu Han wielded his dagger from his side.

Minseok began running over, Jongdae trailing behind him.

“Minseok, Jongdae, stay away from him!” Sehun yelled, slowly getting up from the ground. Lu Han had turned to Minseok and charged at him with the dagger. Sehun managed to catch up and tackle him to the ground. Minseok kicked the dagger away and looked at Sehun, who now had Lu Han’s hands behind his back and a knee holding Lu Han down.

“What got into this asshole? I thought he was on our team.” Minseok said.

“He’s having Red Force withdrawals. Grab his bag.”

Minseok did as Sehun said and Sehun lifted Lu Han from the ground. Lu Han put up a good fight, as the Red Force made him even stronger than normally. However, Sehun was able to shove him into the apartment building and into one of the rooms. Sehun slammed the door behind him and locked it.

He heard pounding on the door and Jongdae calling his name.

“Sehun, open the door!” Jongdae shouted, fear imminent in his voice.

“He’s going to fucking kill you and himself if you stay in there. Leave him!” Minseok yelled.

“You guys stay out there,” Sehun shouted, “Don’t bother trying, no matter what you hear.”

“Sehun, he’s going to die.” Jongdae stated. Sehun could tell he was crying.

“Minseok, please. Get yourself and Jongdae away from here. Go to another floor, explore, do whatever. Use his L-1485 if you see anything suspicious. Leave us.” Sehun shoved Lu Han against the wall. The apartment was fairly small, and Sehun looked around to find somewhere where he could tie Sehun. He was thankful that the apartment didn’t suffer too much damage from the apocalypse. He went into the bathroom of the complex, occasionally slamming Lu Han into the wall to weaken him. When Sehun flipped Lu Han around, Lu Han smashed his forehead into Sehun’s. Sehun’s vision blurred and his back went into the sink, a bruise surely forming. Lu Han sent a punch to Sehun’s face, re-opening the healing wound on his cheek. He dug his nails into the wound on Sehun’s neck and Sehun yelped, fighting the tears forming in his eyes. Sehun retaliated by elbowing Lu Han in the ribs. Sehun put a firm hand around Lu Han’s neck and tightened his grip. He pushed Lu Han to the ground when Lu Han was weakening. He used his other hand to pull the shoelace out of his shoe. Once he did retrieved the shoelace, he took his hand off of Lu Han’s and the blonde began violently couching. Sehun used that time to take his hands and tie them around the pipe of the sink. It was a temporary hold, but Sehun would use the time it gave him to search the apartment. He triple knotted the lace and went into the other room to check for zip-ties or rope. Luhan was shouting from the bathroom, a combination of wishing Sehun dead and screaming in agony. Sehun was in luck—underneath the sink in the kitchen was a toolbox that had zip-ties and rope in it. Sehun took both items to the restroom. Lu Han looked up at him as he entered. His eyes were red, but he was also crying. The pain must have been unbearable, but tying him up was the only way that Lu Han had a chance of survival. He connected the zip-ties and clasped them tightly around Sehun’s wrists. He opted to use the rope for Lu Han’s legs. Sehun put his shoelace back in his shoe. Lu Han was still screaming, his voice becoming hoarse. His face was drenched in sweat. Sehun lifted up the boy’s sleeves and saw that every vein in his arm was aggravated and protruding. It was a disgusting sight to see someone who normally looked so angelic’s expressions twisted into something almost demonic.

After nearly an hour of Lu Han’s screaming, Sehun used his blanket to gag Lu Han. Lu Han’s throat was surely already raw, but Sehun hoped that it would help him. Sehun spent hours keeping an eye on Lu Han. When the boy began to quiet down, Sehun looked over his notes on the SOA. To keep Lu Han company, Sehun read out every note he had written down about the SOA, since his and Jongdae’s suspicions on them started.

Four hours later, Lu Han began to act up again. He began smalling his head backwards into the sink and into the wall. Sehun crawled into the protesting boy’s lap and held his head in place.

“Lu Han, look at me. I know you’re still in there. I’m going to get you through his. I don’t care how long it takes, you’re not dying on my watch.” Sehun looked into Lu Han’s eyes. He decided to take out the gag and let it hang from Lu Han’s neck.

“Fuck you.” Was the first thing that Lu Han said once he was able to speak.

“Withdrawals last about eighteen hours. By about two in the morning, you should be okay.” Sehun kept his hands on both sides of Lu Han’s face.

“I’m not going to make it that far, I’m going to fucking kill you. I’m going to get of his make you suffer.”

“Curse me all you want. It’s not any different from when you aren’t on Red Force.” Sehun sighed and got off of Lu Han. He went into the living room and found dusty pillows from a disheveled loveseat. He took the tape from underneath the sink. When he went back into the bathroom, he saw that Lu Han’s wrists were bleeding from struggling against the zip ties. Blood was tricking down his index finger and into a small pool on the ground. Sehun used the duct tape to tape a pillow behind Lu Han’s head and on the wall, so Lu Han couldn’t further harm himself. After he had completed the task, he dug into his bag to find a tin of kimchi. He took some of the medication that Jun have given them, knowing that they caused drowsiness, and smashed them with the butt of his dagger to put into the kimchi. He sat next to Lu Han. Sweat was dripping off of Lu Han’s jawline, having run down from his forehead. Sehun pushed his bangs off of his face and felt his forehead. He surely had a fever, but that was to be suspected with the RF.

“Work with me. You need to eat.” Sehun picked up a piece of kimchi in his fingers.

“Piss off. And don’t fucking touch me. I’m not eating anything out of your grimy hands.” Lu Han turned his head as well as he could, so Sehun was out of his line of sight.

“I’ll force your jaw open if that’s what it takes.” Sehun gripped Lu Han’s chin and turned him back in Sehun’s direction.

Lu Han huffed. His expression looked strained, the veins in his forehead were protruding like the ones in his arms. It was visible that Lu Han was physically and mentally exhausted, yet the RF wouldn’t allow him to relax.

Sehun managed to pry open Lu Han’s mouth and shove some of the kimchi in his mouth. He closed his jaw and plugged his nose, so Lu Han had no choice but to chew. Once Sehun administered Lu Han a substantial amount of food, he let Lu Han’s jaw go, still keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t spit out any food possibly left in his mouth.

Lu Han immediately started spewing out crude remarks, with Sehun silently listening to everything he said. Though he knew Lu Han probably didn’t mean most of it, it still hurt Sehun.

“No wonder your parents hated you. You’re such an asshole” Lu Han chucked.

Sehun felt his chest tighten at Lu Han’s statement.

“Who told you that?” Sehun said, barely over a whisper.

“Jongdae was whining to me, telling me to be nicer to your sorry ass. He said you had a bad upbringing or whatever. He seriously thought that would make me pity you. It just made me want to hurt you even more.”

Sehun was not an emotional person. He couldn’t remember the last he felt hurt by someone’s words. He had built a shell around himself, not letting it be cracked by anyone. The only person who was able to tear down some of his walls was Jongdae. When Sehun was bullied, Jongdae was there. No one else was, and Sehun wanted to keep it that way. Nevertheless, he could feel a single tear sliding down his cheek.

“Shut up, Lu Han.” Sehun turned away from the blonde.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Good. Fucking do it. Put me out of my misery, I feel like I have fucking maggots under the skin on my neck.”

Sehun ignored Lu Han and continued facing the wall. He didn’t want to see the little remnants still left of Lu Han’s old self.

He didn’t know how long he had  been in his own thoughts until he looked at his L-1485 and saw that it was eleven in the evening. He had been listening to Lu Han screaming on and off since early in the morning, and the screaming only stopped moments ago. Sehun turned on the light on his device to see that Lu Han’s head was hanging down. Sehun crawled over and put a hand under Lu Han’s slightly parted lips to see if he was still breathing. Sehun felt a sigh of relief when he was. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. The silence was quite a relief.

Sehun managed to sleep for a few hours until he heard the most horrifying scream he had ever experienced. His eyes shot open. It was coming from Lu Han, who was crying. His whole body was hot to the touch. Sehun immediately got up and went to his bag, taking the last bottle of his purified water and pouring some of it on a cloth in his bag. He put the cool cloth on Lu Han’s forehead.

“Lu Han, stay with me please.”

Lu Han looked into Sehun’s eyes and continued crying. The aggression seemed to be replaced with fear and pain.

Sehun dabbed Lu Han’s face and his neck, whispering to him that everything would be okay. Sehun wiped Lu Han’s tears.

When Lu Han began convulsing, Sehun tried to hold him in place, but Lu Han was too strong. Sehun could only watch in shock as Lu Han shook and fought against his restraints. His wrists began bleeding once more, and Sehun was glad that the rope was above Lu Han’s pants, otherwise his legs would be raw from rope burn.

The convulsing went on for about ten minutes, though it felt like much longer for Sehun, as he watched helplessly. Lu Han’s body fell limp, a slow exhale falling out of his lips as it did so. Sehun reached for Lu Han’s chest. His heart was beating at a dangerously slow pace, but he was alive. The clock read three in the morning. Lu Han had survived.

Sehun cut off the zipties off of Lu Han’s wrists and took the rope off of his legs. He used the washcloth to clean Lu Han’s wrists, neck, and cleaned out the dried blood from underneath his fingernails. Sehun retrieved a plain black turtleneck and put it on Lu Han after he removed his sweat ridden shirt. Sehun’s turtleneck was slightly oversized on the smaller, but he figured it would be okay, since Lu Han’s previous shirt was quite large. After Sehun used the last of his water to clean Lu Han’s clothing, he set them out to dry and picked up Lu Han to bring him to the couch in the other room.

Once Sehun set down Lu Han and wrapped up his wrists, Sehun backed into the wall and slowly sat on the ground. He felt a wave of exhaustion and anxiety come over him.

Thinking back on the lowest time of his life was something he never thought he would have to do again. Being young and having no where to go, Sehun had to deal with constant ridicule every day. His father was a psychologist who, ironically, needed the help he was offering people. His father was cheating on his mother, and his mother cheating on the father, both sides thinking that they were getting away with it. When his stewardess mother was working, his father was bringing a woman half his age home. When his mother went on her trips and had to stay at hotels around the world, Sehun knew his mother was sleeping with the pilot. Sehun was stuck in the middle of it all, and when he confronted his father, he was hit. Sehun remembered coming home one day after school to his drunk father and his mistress. In a fit of anger, Sehun’s father pushed him down the stairs and broke Sehun’s leg.

 Dinners became uncomfortable for their only son, with his mother texting from behind the flower pot, and his father excusing himself early to ‘go get drinks with his boss’. Telling them about the apocalypse was the icing on the cake, as it was the same for Jongdae’s family. Sehun went with Jongdae when he told his parents. The extremely conservative Kim household told Jongdae that the SOA was the best thing to ever happen to South Korea, and if he thought otherwise, he wasn’t welcome in their household.

The sheer amount of embarrassment that the two felt when their family and friends laughed in their faces was unforgettable, but now they were all dead.

Sehun tried to shake away the memories and rest. He hoped Minseok and Jongdae were able to rest. He closed his eyes and hoped that he would wake up in the morning.

Luckily, he did. He wouldn’t say he was well rested, but it was some form of sleep that could keep him going. Lu Han was still asleep on the couch. Sehun grabbed Lu Hans now dry clothes and placed them next to him. He went to the door of the room and unlocked it. Jongdae and Minseok were asleep in the apartment across from the one Sehun and Lu Han were in. The wall in that apartment was not fully intact, so Sehun would make out the two figures on the couch. Though he was quiet with the door, Minseok sat up when he heard Sehun exit the room. Sehun sent a weak wave his way and headed into the apartment.

“You look exhausted.” Minseok stated, eyeing Sehun up and down. Sehun could feel his body aching from the events the day prior. “How is Lu Han?”

“Alive. I can’t believe we both survived that.”

Minseok’s expression changed to relief, “He survived?” He lifted up Jongdae’s leg that was swung over his own and stood up, “How is he?”

Jongdae shifted on the couch, slowly waking up as Minseok and Sehun talked.

“He’s still sleeping. I venture he’s going to be in as much pain as I am. Can you keep an eye on him for a bit? I’m going to just take a walk.” Sehun asked Minseok.

“Yeah, of course.” Minseok nodded.

Sehun began to walk away when he found a pair of arms wrap around his torso.

“Oh Sehun, you’re such an idiot! You could have died!”

Sehun turned his head to see Jongdae’s face buried in the fabric on the back of Sehun’s leather jacket.

“I know, Dae, but I didn’t.” Sehun moved so Jongdae could properly hug him.

“You really will risk your life for other people, even if they treat you like garbage.” Jongdae pulled away from Sehun and offered him a smile.

Sehun chuckled at his needy best friend and ruffled his hair, “I hope his incessant screaming didn’t keep you guys up too much. But, I’ll be back. Going out for a bit.”

Sehun saluted them as he walked out of the room and outside. Minseok and Jongdae looked at each other. They had heard quite a bit of the events that unfolded, and they knew just how much Sehun had to do to keep Lu Han alive. They went into the opposite room to see Lu Han rubbing at his eyes and sitting up.

“I feel like I was hit by a meteor.” Lu Han grumbled and stretched his arms, immediately retracting them when he felt a pain surging through his body.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you almost die.” Minseok quirked a brow and shifted his weight from one leg to another.

“What? I barely remember anything that happened.” Lu Han furrowed his brows. He looked down and saw his flannel and shirt next to him and felt the unfamiliar fabric on his torso with his bandaged hands.

“Well, Sehun saved your life, so that’s one thing,” Minseok averted hi attention to the bathroom and noted the pool of blood on the ground, “From the looks of him and you, you look like you put up a good fight.”

“I-“ Lu Han paused, his throat felt raw. He fingered the bandages on his wrists, “I remember a little, like being restrained, but that’s it.”

“Sehun locked you two in here and stayed with you through everything. He didn’t want anything to happen to us and risked his life to save you. You realize that, right? Maybe you should be nicer to him now.” Jongdae said.

“I know it wasn’t entirely you, but you said some pretty shitty things to him. He looked really upset this morning.” Minseok added, taking his bag off of his back, “Anyway, let’s eat. We lost all day yesterday, so it’s best if we get on track as soon as possible.”

Sehun walked the quiet streets. It was still early, and he was fortunate enough to not run into any danger, aside from having to destroy a few turrets.

He got back to see his three groupmates sitting on the ground and eating canned fish.

Lu Han exchanged a quick glance with Sehun and looked away, popping a piece of kimchi in his mouth.

“Feel better?” Jongdae asked, patting the ground next to him for Sehun to sit.

“Yeah, thanks.” Sehun smiled. He saw his reflection when he was walking past an intact window. His wound on his cheek was completely reopened and was reddening around the edges, indicating a possible infection. He could also feel a large bruise on his back, but he didn’t want to worry anyone. Jongdae tried to feed him kimchi from his chopsticks, but Sehun politely declined and scrolled through his L-1485 instead.

When the rest of the group finished their breakfast, they set out.

“Do you feel that?” Minseok asked, fishing for his lighter in his pocket.

“Feel what?” Jondgae asked quizzically.

“I don’t really know. The air feels heavy or something.”Minseok lit his cigarette and shrugged.

When Sehun was walking with them, he was pulled back by a hand tugging at his jacket. It was Lu Han.

“Hey, can I talk to you?” Lu Han asked.

Sehun nodded slightly and fell back to walk with him.

“I guess I just want to say thank you,” Lu Han murmured. It was apparent that the older wasn’t good at expressing his emotions, “And, I know I said some things, well, I don’t know. Apparently I did. They told me. And I don’t remember anything really, except maybe snippets here and there. But, they’re all jumbling, and I can pretty much just say that I would have been left to die by anyone else. They asked you to leave me, and you didn’t,” Lu Han paused to breath, “I’m rambling, but what I am trying to say is I’m sorry for whatever shitty things I said to you, and I know it was a lot. Yeah, I’m kind of an asshole, but I wasn’t always like this, okay? I’m sorry and thank you.”

Minseok and Jongdae turned slightly to see the two talking and smirked at each other, before continuing on their path.

Sehun was staring at Lu Han as he was speaking, unsure of what to say. 

“Lu Han, I wasn’t going to leave you to die. You may not think so, but I consider you a friend, or at least an acquaintance, and the people I surround myself with deserve whatever I can do to help. Yes, some words were exchanged that really affected me, but it wasn’t entirely you speaking, and I’m not going to hold what you said when you were almost dying against you. I appreciate it, thank you. And I’m sorry for your injuries. How are they feeling?”

Lu Han openly smiled at Sehun and held out his wrists, “They hurt, but I think you’re in just as much pain. I’m a little bruised everywhere, but better than dead, right?” Lu Han and Sehun laughed.

“Right,” Sehun started, “You put up quite a fight. Just keep an eye out for possible infection. And for your neck,” Sehun dug into his bag and pulled out a cream from the first aid kit Jun gave him, “Put this on it. You broke through your skin quite a bit.” He handed Lu Han the cream.

“It looks like I got a hickey from a giant. You can say it, I know what it looks like.” Lu Han chucked. He pocketed the cream, as his neck was bandaged, courtesy of Sehun. “Speaking of infection, your cheek is pretty fucked up.”

“Yeah,” Sehun sighed, “It’s been re-opened like three times, so I venture I’ll have a scar.”

“Scars are pretty badass.” Lu Han offered, saying it loudly enough for Minseok and Jongdae to hear, “Except if you have them in the shape of teeth marks from a Yao Guai. Then everyone knows you’re a pussy and got attacked by a innocent little bear.”

Jongdae whined and fell back with Minseok to walk with Sehun and Lu Han. Jongdae elbowed Lu Han in the ribs, “At least I don’t look like a make out session gone wrong.”

Minseok snickered and high fived Jongdae. “You’re developing a sharp tongue hanging around me, aren’t you now?” He said to Jongdae.

“You guys are so annoying. Remind me how old you are again? Ten and eleven?” Lu Han stuck his tongue out at them.

Minseok mimicked what Lu Han said, “You call us children when you just stuck out your fucking tongue at us.”

“Because that’s how you get a rise out of babies. You have to stoop to their level.” Lu Han retorted, getting defensive.

“At least I don’t have the face of a toddler!” Minseok grinned.

Lu Han huffed, “Yeah, okay, baby cheeks. Whatever gets you going, buddy.”

“I do not! I’ll have you know that I’m all muscle, baby. You can touch if you want.” Minseok raised a brow.

“Gross. It’s not appropriate to touch children.” Lu Han chuckled deviously.

“I’m older than you!” Minseok raised his hands in frustration.

“Barely! And, if you really are, act like it!”

“And, once again, is a prime example of our maknae being the most mature.” Jongdae smiled at Sehun, “Why are the oldest always more immature?”

“Maybe because they look like they could be younger than us.” Sehun offered.

“Wait, you’re younger than me? How old are you guys?” Lu Han asked Sehun and Jongdae.

“Hunnie is 23 and I’m 25.” Jongdae stated, throwing an arm around Sehun’s waist, since Sehun was too tall for Jongdae to reach his shoulders.

“Alright, let’s agree to disagree,” Lu Han said to Minseok, “And we can baby our dear maknae.”

Mineok grinned at Lu Han, “Deal.”

Sehun rolled his eyes, “Don’t you dare expect for me to call you my hyungs.”

…

Sehun felt relieved that he was not on thin ice with Lu Han anymore. Maybe now they would be able to push forward and make it to Seoul. As they wear nearing the outskirts, they noted that there was much higher security. Their travels had led them to Bucheon, just on the outskirts of Seoul. The atmosphere was much different. More bodies than they had ever seen lined the roads. One of the bridges that they were taking had been torn in two, from what looked like an explosion. The water around the area was heavily radiated, as well.

“We can’t cross up here, should we backtrack?” Minseok asked, looking at the distance between the broken parts of the bridges. It was at least ten feet, so there was no way they could cross it. Backtracking would cost them more hours of walking.

“Look down there. There’s a ledge. We can climb down and use some of the pieces of the bridge in the water to cross to the land on the other side. What do you think?” Jongdae suggested. Sehun looked to see what Jongdae meant. There was a piece of shrapnel in the water that would be fatal if someone jumped on it. Otherwise, it seemed like a plausible plan. One person would need to jump down first to help the others climb down. A few large pieces on bridge poked out of the water, that would allow them to make it safely to the land just above the water on the other side of the bridge.

“I think it could work.” Lu Han stated, “Should I go down first?” He suggested.

“You think you’re strong enough to do it?” Minseok genuinely asked, though it came off as if he was questioning Lu Han’s abilities. Truth be told, all four of them were in impeccable shape. Lu Han was the second tallest, coming in second to Sehun, so he could probably reach up and help the group down.

“Stronger than you, that’s for sure.” Lu Han made his way to the edge and sat at it, his legs dangling. Jongdae took one of his hands and Sehun the other, holding him up as he prepared to jump down.

“Careful.” Minseok stated. Swing back a little when you jump, so you don’t get cut by that metal.

Lu Han listened and swung back, gracefully landing on the ledge below. “Who’s next. Jongdae?” Lu Han asked. Jongdae made a sound of approval, and was helped down by the two above. Minseok went next, and Sehun went last. Since he didn’t have help from above, he hung off of the top of the bridge and jumped down, the sound of his nails on the concrete made a chill go up his spine. Lu Han steadied him as he landed with a hand on each side of his waist. Sehun’s recollected his balance, and sent a nod to Lu Han.

“Uh, guys.” Jongdae whispered to them.

The other three followed Jongdae’s gaze. A creature that looked eerily represented a person was in the distance. From where they could see, it almost looked like it had Western features and it stood nearly eight feet tall. It had the torso of a bodybuilder, and had attributes that were eerily similar to a human. However, it’s skin was a sickly green color mixed with a muddled brown. It’s head was small, with unusually large hands and feet.

“I never thought I would see one alive and in person. Fuck.” Minseok breathed out.

“What is it?” Lu Han asked, gripping the strap around his chest that held his shotgun on his back.

“It’s called a Super Mutant. Like ghouls, they used to be people. The radiation had a different effect on them, though. A higher tolerance to it, per say. Unlike ghouls, they are much more intelligent than the aggressive ghouls. See how he’s wielding a weapon?” Minseok whispered.

The Super Mutant had a minigun in one hand. It fashioned arm and leg armor, but it’s chest was bare.

“And, another thing about Super Mutants, where there’s one, there are generally more of them, or another enemy.”

“What’s the safest bet to get around it?” Jongdae inquired.

“They have bad hearing, but great eyesight. There’s a small chance that we can get passed it if we’re quiet, but I’m not making any promises.”

The group decided to follow Minseok, since he had the most knowledge on the Super Mutants. He pointed to a hill and indicated for the group to follow. They did so, going unseen by the Super Mutant. They breathed a sigh of relief when they passed. Minseok eyed them, “That was close.” He stated. The hill was piled with broken rocks and concrete. It took them a moment to realize that the hill had a cave in it.

“I think we’re going to be practically handing our lives over going in there.” Jongdae worriedly stated.

“Yeah, we can probably find another way past if we keep going along the rub-“ Minseok’s statement was cut off by six shots consecutively being shot in their direction. They looked behind them where the shots were coming from.

The Super Mutant from earlier was barreling in their direction, however, the shots didn’t come from him. They came from a chrome suit of armor fashioning the SOA symbol on the chest.

“Power Armor.” Sehun stated, backing up into the rocks.

“There’s no way we can survive this.” Minseok stated, actually sounding concerned for once.

Two men in gas masks and all black were following behind the Power Armor, as well. It was strange that the Super Mutant wasn’t slowing aggression to the SOA members. The scene in front of them was enough of a threat to the four, that they didn’t hold off to wait and see if more enemies approached. Lu Han pushed them into the cave and they ran. Sehun and Jongdae turned the lights on on their L-1485’s to guide the way. The cave was narrow, but long. The four could tell when the Super Mutant entered, because the walls of the cave shook. They came to an impass when the cave broke into three smaller tunnels.

“Fuck, what do we do?” Minseok asked, sounding exasperated.

“You guys have those things. They have maps and lights, yeah?” Lu Han asked, pointing to Jongdae’s L-1485.

“Yeah…” Jongdae responded, waiting for the rest of Lu Han’s inquiry.

“Break off into twos. The ones of us without those things will go with ones with them.”

“Good idea.” Minseok stated, grabbing Jongdae’s arm. They didn’t have time to decide who went with who.

“Be careful!” Jongdae yelled as they ran down the leftmost path. Sehun and Lu Han went into the middle path and ran. The path was getting more and more narrow as they ran.

“Shit, we chose a dead end!” Lu Han yell, “We have to backtrack.”

“We’re going to die if we do,” Sehun stated, “But we have no choice, do we?”

Lu Han shook his head. Sehun grabbed Lu Han’s hand and ran as quickly as he could. As they approached the beginning of the tunnel, they felt the steps of the Super Mutant getting closer and closer. As they ran from the middle tunnel to the right, the Super Mutant caught their movements and raced toward them. Lu Han pulled out his shotgun and Sehun grabbed for his pistols, putting one in each hand. They ran backwards, shooting at the creature. The creature was unfazed by the pistol shots, but the shotgun shots visibly harmed him. When Lu Han had to reload, Sehun pulled out his baseball bat and ran forward, sending it straight into the Super Mutant’s chest. The Super Mutant looked at Sehun, as Sehun pried the nails out of the Super Mutant’s skin. Sehun made eye contact with the creature, noting it’s sharp teeth hanging out of his mouth. The Super Mutant grabbed Sehun by the neck, lifting him into the air. Sehun felt his breath being constricted and kicked the Super Mutant in the face. The Super Mutant threw Sehun forward, sending him into a pile of rocks in the cave. Sehun started to get up, only to be trampled by the Super Mutant as it ran for Lu Han. Sehun saw stars with the amount of pain he felt, but got up regardless. At this point, the Super Mutant was in between Sehun and Lu Han. Lu Han was running backwards further into the cave, and the Super Mutant after him. Lu Han was most likely unable to see, but the firing of shots was an indication that he did load his gun. Sehun took the advantage of being behind the Super Mutant to pull out his dagger and jump on the creature’s back. Sehun took his dagger and stabbed it as far as he could into it’s neck. When he removed the dagger, the creature slowed—it’s blood spattering on Sehun’s face. Sehun raised the dagger again and sent it into one of the Super Mutant’s eyes. That stopped him in his tracks and caused the creature to smash it’s back into the cave walls in an attempt to get Sehun off. Sehun groaned in pain, but dug the dagger in deeper. He took the pistol that was the most easily accessible and sent a shot into it’s head. The Super Mutant smashed Sehun into the wall once more, causing Sehun to fall to the ground. The Super Mutant turned in his direction and Sehun’s dagger was still in his eye. A shot was heard, and Sehun watched the shot be sent into the Super Mutant’s head, ripping the skin from that part of it’s skull. Another shot went in the same spot, and this time, the creature fell forward, it’s body handing on Sehun’s legs. He could feel it still breathing, though part of it’s skull had been shot off, and it’s unnaturally dark brain was pounding through the opening. Lu Han crawled onto the creature’s back and sent his dagger into the Super Mutant’s brain. Sehun could feel the Super Mutant’s breathing go to a halt, and it’s chest stopped moving. Lu Han used all of his strength to get the body off of Sehun, and Sehun used as much of his legs as he could to kick the rest off.

“You okay?” Lu Han asked, outstretching a hand for Sehun to take.

“Yeah, thanks.” Sehin took his hand and got up. Pain was emitting from everywhere, but he wasn’t dead, which was a good sign.  Sehun retrieved his dagger from the Super Mutant’s eye socket and they continued into the cave, still running, as they knew the SOA was not far behind. Lu Han noticed Sehun clutching his ribcage and stopped him.

“What are you doing?” Lu Han asked, not waiting for Sehun to answer and lifted up his shirt. Sehun’s entire right side of his ribcage was already bruised. A deep purple and ominous red color decorated his ribcage with an outline of yellow.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t really hurt.” Sehun lied. He could feel that he had broken a couple of ribs.

“Bullshit, that’s disgusting.” Lu Han stated.

“Can’t do anything about broken bruises anyway except let them heal,” Sehun stated, “Let’s keep going. Don’t worry.” Sehun reached for Lu Han’s hand once more and dragged him through the cave. They could hear footsteps coming from another part of the cave. Worried that it was the SOA, they slowed down their pace.

“Sehun? Is that you?” Sehun could hear Jongdae’s voice.

“Yeah, over here, Dae!” The thin walls allowed them to hear each other.

“Keep going, alright?” Minseok said through the wall, “We’ll meet you at the end.”

The middle path must have ended much shorter than the other two, with the left and right paths crossing, since Jongdae could hear Sehun and Lu Han.

They ran forward for about a mile longer and began to see the light of the day on the outside. As they were running, they nearly collided into Jongdae and Minseok. The four ran outside, leaning against the rocks to catch their breath. They didn’t have much time, though, since the SOA appeared from the inside of the cave, aiming their guns at the four.

“Hands up, now!” The agents yelled, through their gasmasks. Minseok audibly laughed while looking at them.

“You really think we’re going to listen to you assholes?” Minseok grinned, flashing the rest of his group a look. They knew what he was doing and followed through with his plan. While they had their attention focused on Minseok, Jongdae quietly took out his weapon, and Lu Han kept his shotgun out. Suddenly, the SOA agent in the Power Armor emerged from the cave. They had to act quickly. A loud popping sound was heard from inside of the cave, which was a good distraction for Lu Han and Jongdae to aim their guns at the SOA agents. Sehun drew his pistols, as well. Lu Han and Jongdae sent shots at the two agent and the four of them began oh the Power Armor.

A sound of loading came from the Power Amor.

“Duck!” Minseok yelled. The four of them dropped to the ground as the machine gun on the arm of the Power Amor began to shoot. The three directly in front of the fire had to roll out of the way. Minseok was the most familiar with how the Power Armor worked. Sehun searched for the keypad on the back. The person inside of the armor was quick to turn to dismantle Sehun’s quest to find the keypad. Another sound came from the cave, but it didn’t distract the Power Amor. The heavy machinery sent a swinging metallic fist into Minseok’s stomach, who had approached it from the side. Lu Han reloaded his shotgun and shot at the face of the robotic armor. Jongdae was trying to avoid the sight of the Power Armor to fish in the bag that Jun gave them. There were some pressurized explosives that Jun had crafted himself, and Sehun assumed that it was what Jongdae was looking for.

The only benefit of fighting against Power Armor was that the line of sight was not very good. The opening was similar to Cyclops’s glasses in X-Men. Sehun watched as the Power Armor sent another blow to Minseok’s body and Sehun took the opportunity to send a shot into one of the tubes that connected the mask to the body. It probably circulated the oxygen inside of the armor and prevented radiation from entering the armor, Sehun figured. The tube came undone and fizzed as oxygen spurted out of it. Sehun sent a shot at the other, but the Armor charged too quickly. The barrel on the machine gun placed on the arm of the Power Armor began to whirl. Sehun ducked out of the way.

Jongdae ran over to where Sehun was and placed the explosive he retrieved on the keypad. Jongdae must have noticed it while he was behind it. Jongdae pulled Sehun out of the way and pulled out his gun to shoot at the pressurized plate. The shot went off and a sputtering sound came from the Power Armor. They noticed the back part where the person inside the armor entered from loosened significantly. Jongdae went for the back of it, but the Power Armor turned too quickly and sent the dagger the was on the armpiece into Jongdae’s shoulder. Jongdae fell back and Lu Han lunged forward, sinking his own dagger into the area in between the headpiece and body. He pulled some wires from it. Allegedly, said wires triggered the machine gun, since the barrel turned, but no shots came out from it. Minseok was up from the ground with Lu Han, prying the back open while Jongdae and Sehun sent shots into the front of the armor. The two ripped open the back and the person inside’s back was exposed. Lu Han took his dagger and stabbed into the person’s back. Minseok pulled him out and threw him on the ground. The man inside looked up at them and grinned.

“What’s so funny?” Minseok asked, crawling on top of the man and holding his dagger to the man’s neck.

“This.” The man pressed a device in his hand. A whirring sound came from inside the cave, but stopped. The man pressed the button again. Nothing happened.

“What?” The man said, now looking nervous.

Footsteps came from inside of the cave, and a black-haired boy emerged, holding something in his hands. It appeared to be a claw of some sort. The wires were sparking at the end, indicating it was just ripped from something else.

“You know what’s even funnier than your plan getting screwed over?” Minseok asked, “This.” Minseok sunk his dagger into the man’ neck. His head fell limp. Minseok stood up from the body and the four of them were now looking at the individual that came out of the cave. He was closer now, and they could make out his features. He was tall, similarly so to Sehun. His dark hair hung almost in his eyes, and he had a scar running through his right eyebrow. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, a black suit jacket, black ripped jeans, with a choker around his neck. He was wearing white sneakers, which were surprisingly clean, despite being inside of a cave.  

“Sorry I couldn’t help sooner. This thing inside was coming at me. I don’t know what it was, RF-05 I think it said on the body of it?” He threw down the mechanical piece he was holding. Sehun noticed he had a black backpack slung over one shoulder.

“How long were you in there?” Minseok asked, “We didn’t see you, and we just came out of there before we were attacked.” He raised a brow.

“Not too long. I actually went in after I saw you guys. I’ve been wandering alone for a while. I was staying in Daegu until recently. There’s a detective agency built there by a ghoul and some half robot guy.”

“You could have helped with this asshole here.” Lu Han pointed at the body on the ground.

“Sorry, I was a little busy in there. Did you guys have a lot of trouble with the Power Armor?” He asked.

“I mean, he kind of stabbed my friend in the shoulder, and I feel like I was punched by five thousand pounds of metal, but we’re just peachy.” Minseok stated.

“That’s a shame, especially since that Power Armor is the T-45. That’s one of the prototype ones that the SOA has been testing out.” The stranger frowned.

“How do you know that?” Lu Han pried.

“You know Kim & Co? Or, what it was, per say.” He responded.

“The computer and parts company? Weren’t they in the news for some controversy?” Jongdae asked.

“Yeah. They originally created blueprints for a defense system that the government pitched. At the time, they didn’t know what were creating. They were told that they were designing protective armor for the war. It ended up being a blueprint and prototype for Power Armor. Once they found out what it was going to be used for, they dropped the idea and cut ties with the government, or SOA. Then, the heads of the company, Kim Dojung and  Lee Chul mysteriously closed their company and Kim Dojung passed away a month later. Lee Chul went missing and was never found. Anyway, I’m Kim Jongin. My father was Kim Dojung. That’s why I know so much about this.” Jongin stated.

Sehun bowed, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jongin. I’m Oh Sehun.  We had trouble getting to Daegu, since the road we were going to take had an overwhelming amount of radiation emitting from it. Did the robot person you mentioned have a prosthetic or something, or was it something like this? I wish we would have met you sooner if we managed to get into Daegu.” Sehun indicated with his glance that he was talking about the L-1485.

“It wasn’t like that, but that thing seems vaguely familiar to me. I think he called himself a synth, but I could be mistaken. Kind of looked like a robot with slightly human features. I guess he was a prototype for a synthetic human that the SOA was trying to make, but he got too intelligent and broke away from the SOA. That’s why he hides out in Daegu as a detective. I wish I could remember his name. It was an Western name, I remember that. I think his last name was an American holiday. Not Columbus. Was it Memorial? No, maybe Valentine? Anyway, if you ever go back to Daegu, definitely hit him up. I think he would be really beneficial in rebuilding after the SOA destroyed everything,” Jongin paused, “Sorry, I don’t mean to ramble and state my views or anything. I’m just kind of out for the SOA since what happened to my father. I’m headed that way now.” Jongin offered.

“Your views go straight in line with ours. We are going that way too. Would you like to tag along?” Jongdae asked.

“I’d love to.”

The group made their way towards Seoul, taking extra precautions since there was more danger there. Sehun and Jongin immediately hit it off. Jongin was only a few months older than Sehun, and he also danced, which gave them something to bond over.

“I got scouted for a modeling agency at thirteen, and I had been doing that, combined with dancing, until the apocalypse.” Jongin said when Sehun inquired about his life.

“You modeled?” Jongdae turned from his conversation with Minseok to look at the taller.

“Yeah, just some basic stuff, like online clothing companies and cologne.” Jongin responded with a nod.

“You’re asking if he modeled like you’re surprised. Have you seen that jawline? Of course he’s a model.” Minseok took a drag from his cigarette and playfully bumped into Jongdae.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry.” Jongdae bumped back into Minseok.

“No offense taken. Don’t worry.  I was really excited because I got cast in a film before the apocalypse with Do Kyungsoo! Can you believe it? I didn’t get to end up meeting him, though, which was really disappointing.” Jongin sighed.

“He’s a really good actor. Was,” Minseok stated, “And he was a local, wasn’t he?”

“He was. Not only was he an amazing actor, he also had the voice of an angel. And he seemed like a really nice guy. In his interviews, he sounded so humble and down to Earth. There aren’t many celebrities like that anymore.” Jongin shrugged.

“You sound like you’re in love with the damn guy.” Lu Han stated, breaking his streak of silence.

“You wouldn’t be that far off,” Jongin chuckled, “He’s the one that made me want to act. Since our birthdays were so close, I had my sixteenth birthday party at the movie theater to watch his movie that was out at the time,” Jongin smiled at the memories, “Sorry, I have never really been too open about my sexuality since I had a following, but I guess it doesn’t matter now. I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not offended, I- nevermind.” Minseok took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke through his nostrils.

“Same here. And I have a sneaking suspicion our Sehunnie doesn’t either. What about you, Lu Han?”

Sehun covered his face in embarrassment and glanced at Jongae from behind his fingers.

“No.” Lu Han said, looking as if he was processing the situation. Or at least something someone had said.

“Good. See, don’t worry. We’re all accepting here.” Jongdae smiled at Jongin.

The day consisted mostly of walking and more rerouting to bypass the radiation. Sehun and Jongdae educated Jongin on their L-1485’s. Once they filled their new companion in on everything they knew and Jongin shared some of what he knew, they took a brief break to eat and take pain killers.

When Jongin, Minseok, and Jongdae were preparing a fire, Sehun went to sit down next to Lu Han, who was perched on a tree stump.

“Are you alright?” Sehun asked Lu Han.

“Yes, fuck. I’m fine,” Lu Han snapped, but he looked at Sehun and his face softened, “Sorry. I’m okay.”

Sehun placed a comforting hand of Lu Han’s thigh. “Do you not like Jongin or something?”

Lu Han looked at the ground, picking up a stick and poking it into the dirt.

“He’s alright. Don’t really know him. What,” Lu Han looked up at Sehun, “Do you like him?”

Sehun made a sound of approval, “Yeah, he’s really nice. He has a lot of helpful information for us too. I’m glad we ran into him.”

“No,” Lu Han clicked his tongue, “I mean, do you _like_ him? I don’t know, the way Jongdae spoke earlier made it come off that way.”

“Oh, that? Jongdae was referring to this one time in high school where we were being interviewed for our dance group. They asked me if I had a girlfriend, and his exact words were, ‘Sehun has no interest in women.’ Jongdae was so proud of saying it, because it caused a swarm of girls to ask me out to get me interested. I guess they didn’t get what he was doing.” Sehun answered.

“Oh.” Lu Han said, stabbing the ground once more.

“If you’re not cool with it, I get it. You seemed put off by Jongin, so just pretend you don’t know or something.”

“You know, you’re kind of oblivious to some things.” Lu Han laughed and threw the stick in Jongdae’s expression, earning a ‘hey!’ from the brunette.

“I don’t think Jongin likes me like that.” Sehun chucked.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Nevermind.” Lu Han got up and ran over to the rest of the group to help them cook. Sehun shook his head in entertainment and confusion and followed suit.

“I have some supplies too, if we run low,” Jongin said, munching on a piece of tinned fish, “That ghoul city is loaded.”

“Sweet. I usually don’t share, but I scored a good deal of smokes if you’re into that.” Minseok stated. He had already prepared a cigarette behind his ear for later use.

“I don’t smoke, but thank you.”

“And I have some medical supplies. It will probably be needed soon enough, considering the fact we are essentially in Seoul.” Jongdae looked into the distance towards Seoul.

“We really don’t have much to go until we get to Exodus, too. Three miles, give or take. All of these reroutes have been making it take so much longer. Better than dying though, I guess.” Sehun was looking at the screen on his L-1485.

“That’s not bad. We can probably walk like a mile and a half before we will need to stop for the night. Realistically, we could make it there tonight, but it’s best for us to try and recover as well as we possibly can tonight.” Minseok stated.

The rest of the group nodded in approval. Being thrown around by the Super Mutant didn’t exactly leave Sehun feeling amazingly--especially when the painkillers began to wear off.

“It looks like there’s a shopping mall we can stay in for the night, depending on the condition. It’s just east of here.” Jongdae flashed the screen of his L-1485 to the group.

“That’s a good idea. I have a feeling we aren’t the only people that have thought of it, though.” Jongin ran a hand through his hair.

“Hey, you want this? I don’t like water chestnuts.” Lu Han nudged Sehun’s arm while the rest of the group was talking. He had the vegetable in between his chopsticks.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll give you a piece of my kimchi as a fair trade.” Sehun picked up kimchi in his chopsticks and place it in Lu Han’s bowl. Lu Han indicated for Sehun to open his mouth, and he fed Sehun the chestnut. Sehun smiled fondly at the older, feeling something in his chest when the blonde smiled back just as fondly.

An hour, a Yao Guai, and a giant radiated scorpion, unsurprisingly named Radscorpion later, the group approached the mall entrance.

Jongin tugged on the chained doors and huffed. The mall had a couple of pieces of the exterior missing, but it was in stable condition. He shot at the chains and pulled them off of the door.

“That was fast.” Lu Han remarked. They were pleasantly surprised by Jongin’s strength while in combat. He was in impeccable shape, and his skills showed while he expertly shot down the Yao Guai.

“I have to be fast. Look up at the sky,” The group listened and looked up. Clouds were coming in and it looked as if it was going to rain, “I’m assuming none of you have experienced rainfall yet, have you?”

The group shook their heads.

“It’s not normal rainfall. When the sky takes on that greenish tinge and the fog does as well, that means there’s going to be a radiated storm. While rain is harmless, storms bring in heavy radiation from a place called the Glowing Sea. The Glowing Sea is located in Pyeongchang. The whole city turned into a hotspot for radiation. When the winds pick up, so does the radiation. The fog is coming from the combination of radiation and liquid in the air, giving it that almost heavy look and feel that I’m sure you’re experiencing,” Jongin ushered them in, halting the conversation until they were indoors, “Anyway, when that lightning strikes, an exorbitant amount of radiation comes off of it. The lightning may strike ten miles away, but the radiation can reach up to that far. Some of the effects of that radiation if it hits you from this far would be third degree burns, sometimes even singing your skin so badly, that it peels right off of your bones. If you get a direct hit of that lightning, you’re a goner. Ever seen a walking skeleton? Well, that will be you if you’re not careful. “

“Jesus fucking Christ. The things you learn.” Minseok said in awe.

“Leaned from that synth guy and saw with my own eyes. He was created by the SOA themselves, so he knows an excessive amount, but I also saw the effects of radiation myself. My manager took shelter with me when all of this was going down. He was outside when the lighting struck. I could only watch through the windows as his skin peeled off of his bones. He was screaming, well, until his muscles were eradicated as well. I’ll never forget the smell. It was worse than burnt flesh—something more vulgar.” Jongin shuddered.

Sehun took note of what Jongin said in his L-1485. Once complete, they examined the shopping mall. The decided to stay in the west wing of the mall, as the east side was far more damaged.

When they approached the west wing, they saw that there was a wooden fence built, blocking off that part of the mall. It looked like it was built recently, and poorly at that.

“Seems like we have company.” Minseok groaned.

“Should we find somewhere else to go?” Sehun suggested.

“We can’t go out in that weather, unless you want to be obliterated. You heard Jongin.” Lu Han remarked.

Jongin eyed the settlement that had been built in the mall. Barbed wire was put on the top of the wooden fence. There was a gate on the righthand side, but there was also a turret placed in front of it that could go off if they went any closer.

“Well, we have two options. One is trying to make do out of the east wing. The other option is to take over this settlement. “ Jongin put a hand up to his chin in thought.

“Uh,” Minseok started, “Judging by that, probably fighting back.”

The rest of the group looked to the opening gate. They drew their weapons, expecting a person to emerge. Instead, a robotic figure appeared. The robot had claw-like hands and a red laser where it’s eye should be. The body of the figure had a resemblance of a female.

“Back up now. That thing is called an assaultron. It’s highly aggressive and will attack as soon as it detects us. They’re also extremely fast, so it’s inevitable that it will catch up to us. We can just get a small head start,” Jongin gripped the base of his gun and pointed it in the direction of the assaultron, “Don’t let it charge up the laser on it’s head. A hit from that can kill you in a second. Also, aim for the legs. It’s their weakest point. It-“ Jongin paused as the assaultron’s laser pointed in their direction. The five of them dropped and rolled to the side, just as the assaultron sent a shot from it’s laser. The shot was so intense that the tile on the floor blew up on impact. The assaultron sped towards them, the sound of it’s laser charging accompanying it. Jongin shot at the laser, causing the sound to subside for a few seconds. Jongdae sent four bullets into it’s left leg. The assaultron dragged along it’s crippled leg and hurdled into Minseok’s direction. Lu Han shot at it’s other leg. Sehun aimed for the laser repeatedly, hoping to deactivate it. When the whirring sound dissipated and both legs were crippled, the assaultron used it’s upper body to drag itself to Lu Han. Lu Han shot at the torso once more, causing it to collapse. After the assaulton fell, it proceeded to spontaneously combust seconds later. The group had to back up to avoid being hit by the remnants. Jongin informed them that they blew up after they were killed and got a snarky ‘you could have told us that sooner’ from Minseok

“That was easy.” Lu Han stated, wiping his hands together.

“Probably would be lethal to one person. Good thing we have this group, huh?” Jongdae smiled.

“No kidding. I ran into one of these things by myself before and it was horrible. Took me a lot longer to kill it, since it kept dodging my attacks.” Jongin stretched his arms in the air.

“There’s probably more where that came from in there. Let’s go.” Minseok nodded his head in the direction of the gate. The group entered through the gates. The sound of footsteps must have alerted the raiders that had taken over the settlement, as ten people emerged from their hiding spots in the wing.

“How are you still alive?” One of the raiders said before getting shot to the temple from Lu Han. The group was able to take out the first set of raiders relatively quickly, as they were far more skilled. The only benefit of having the apocalypse happen would be that most of the individuals that survived were mostly unskilled in the self-defense department and didn’t have armor to protect themselves. Some, of course, were skilled, as they were the ones preparing for the apocalypse, but they were no match for them.

After clearing out a third of the wing, Jongdae and Minseok took a large department store to clear out, while Lu Han, Jongin, and Sehun looked over the remaining part of the mall. The smaller stores were easy to examine, as they were mostly stripped bare.

Jongin nearly stepped over a trip wire, and was pulled back by Sehun. The both of them collapsed on the floor. Sehun pushed himself up and lent Jongin a hand.

“Thanks, I’m usually more careful. I promise.” Jongin said, his tone filled with embarrassment.

“It’s no problem. I could have done the same.” Sehun reassuringly added. He shot at the wall where the trip wire was attached to disable it. Lu Han watched the scene before him, and continued on.

“I’m going to go back into that clothing store to see if I can find anything. I don’t have too much clothing. Want to come with?” Jongin asked. The clothing store was quite large and still had some clothing left in it.

“I’m going to sit here for a little bit, but I’ll check it out in a bit.” Sehun stated, leaning against the wall of the store. The pain in his body was intense, and almost debilitating. He didn’t want to admit it, as he knew the others were struggling.

“What about you, Lu Han?” Jongin asked.

“Sure, I’ll take a look.”

Lu Han and Jongin entered the clothing store. Sehun took more medication and scanned the wing. They had encountered raiders here and there, but five to one at a time didn’t give the raiders much of a chance. The settlement would work for the night, and then they could make it to Exodus relatively early the next day. Sehun turned the radio on his L-1485 on and listened, closing his eyes and basking in the silence.

He must have drifted off, because he was woken up by a light shake of his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Lu Han. He was now wearing a blue hoodie with a denim jacket over it. It was much more appropriate for the weather outdoors.

“Sorry to wake you. Do you want to go look for some stuff? It’s going to be getting a lot colder, apparently. Jongin was saying something about weird weather changes with the radiation and whatnot.”

Sehun nodded his head, getting up. He wiped the exhaustion out of his eyes.

“Did you get some extra stuff to bring along, Lu?” Sehun asked.

Lu Han smiled slightly at the nickname. “Yeah, I did. Jongin is having a little fashion show in there, and he helped me pick out some stuff.”

Sehun laughed at the older’s comment, “Alright, I guess I should get some stuff. Want to come with?”

“Sure.”

The duo made their way into the clothing store. Minseok and Jongdae joined not soon after and decided to grab what clothes they could, as well.

Lu Han held up things he thought would look good on Sehun, and Sehun took them to try on. Jongin was trying to decide on what to bring from a pile of things he had collected. He kept undressing and redressing in the middle of the store. Sehun thought he went unnoticed, glancing at Jongin as he took off his shirt. Lu Han must have noticed, as he took Sehun’s forearm and dragged him to a different section of the store.

After collecting clothing to take with him, Sehun chose to wear an umber colored oversized turtleneck and black jeans with his combat boots. Jongin frowned when he couldn’t fit all of the clothing in his bag, but he finally decided on a black turtleneck with a maroon cardigan over it. Jongdae chose a clean taupe trenchcoat, similar to the one he was wearing previously, but with a black sweater underneath. Minseok opted for a red and black striped sweater with a black bomber jacket over it.

Once they were all satisfied, they searched for the best place to stay for the night in all of the stores. They decide on a sport’s store, as the practice batting cage would be good for protection.

The group prepared their final meal before they made it to Exodus and ate together.

Jongdae and Minseok leaned against one of the walls, idly listening to the news on Jongdae’s L-1485. Jongin had his lead in Sehun’s lap, throwing a baseball in the air. Lu Han and Sehun were chatting at a tone just above a whisper. Lu Han’s jumped every now and then when radiated thunder clapped outside.

“Are you alright?” Sehun asked the older, eyeing him curiously.

“Yeah, it’s just that the thunder is kind of scary.” Lu Han admitted.

“Of all things that we have seen in the apocalypse, the thunder is the thing that scares you. Come here.” Sehun pulled Lu Han over and let him rest his head on his shoulder. He ran his hand through Lu Han’s hair to comfort him.

They ended up staying that way throughout the night. Sehun woke up that morning with Lu Han’s head still in the crook of his neck and his legs numb from Jongin sleeping.

Sehun eyed Jongdae from the other side of the room, who was reading through his L-1485.

“Hey,” Jongdae started, “Ready to get to Exodus?”

Sehun grinned at Jongdae. They were finally making progress. Soon enough, they would find the mysterious man named Junmyeon, who gave them extremely helpful information in his writings. Then, they could enact their ultimate plan—taking down the SOA.

“I’m more than ready.”

“Well, what are you idiots waiting for? Let’s go!” Minseok piped in, pulling Jongdae up with him.

“I don’t want to wake them up.” Sehun stated.

Minseok groaned and made his way over to Sehun. He nudged Jongin’s side with his shoe and shook Lu Han’s shoulder.

“Get up, losers. We have a big day ahead of us.”


	2. 2/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a lot of self-doubt, here is the second part!

As expected, they made it to the front of Exodus Hotels far before noon, and with few obstacles. With their now known techniques on how to take out an assaultron, the five demolished three they encountered easily.

The hotel stood tall, fashioning about twelve floors. The building was a light gray and was in nearly immaculate shape. From what Junmyeon had written in the documents they found, the owner had created it in a way that it would still be in tact even after the apocalypse.

Minseok tapped on one of the windows closest to the entrance. The back of the hotel was fenced in, so he could only test the front windows.

“Bulletproof.” He stated.

They went to the door and Jongdae pressed the beige button protruding from the wall. A screen above it turned on and a red light indicating there was a camera did, as well.

“Hello and welcome to Exodus. What brings you here?” A friendly voice said over the speaker.

“Hi,” Jongdae said, “We are survivors from the apocalypse, all coming from different areas close to Seoul. We heard that you were a safehouse.”

“Oh, let me buzz you in!” The voice stated, “One moment.”

They heard a buzzing sound and the front door clicked. Minseok tried the handle and the door opened. He looked to the group behind him with a face of satisfaction and walked in. The rest trailed behind him. A long corridor with the walls painted a crisp white greeted them. They walked through, admiring the condition and cleanliness of the safehouse. What looked like a lobby greeted them. To their left was a glass door. Through the door, they could see a greenhouse and someone with a sunhat on watering plants in the ground. To their right was a front desk, and stairs ahead of them. As they eyed the interior, a figure came down the stairs. The group watched the figure descend. As the person came closer, they could make them out better. The male had brown hair neatly tousled on his head and circular rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. His features were strikingly handsome and he radiated confidence.

“Hello and welcome to Exodus Hotel.” The male said in accented Korean, “I’m Zhang Yixing, and you all are?”

The group all felt themselves subconsciously stand up straighter in the male’s presence.

“I’m Kim Jongdae, this is Kim Minseok. Lu Han is back there, and those two are Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin.”

They all bowed to each other.

“Lu Han, huh? Are you Chinese?” Yixing asked.

“Yes, I was here interning, but I am originally from China. I am surprised to see another Chinese person here.” Lu Han stated, looking slightly bewildered.

“We actually have a couple more Chinese settlers here. I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet you.” Yixing smiled and his dimples became even more prominent.

The door to the greenhouse opened and the individual watering the plants came in, sunhat still on his head and watering can in hand. He took the sunhat off and placed it on the counter next to the door.

“Oh, new settlers?” The male said, his voice sounding familiar. They turned to look at the male.

“Oh my God,” Jongin said under his breath, “Oh. My. God.”

“Hey, Kyungsoo! These are our new members.” Yixing introduced them all, remembering their names perfectly.

“Kim Jongin?” Kyungsoo said, “That name sounds familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?” Kyungsoo tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

“I was supposed to be in a movie with you before all of this happened. It’s good to finally meet you. I’m a big fan.” Jongin made a complete 90 degree angle with his body. The raven-haired boy chuckled at Jongin and adjusted his thick framed glasses.

“It’s good to see that someone I kind of knew before the apocalypse is alive,” Kyungsoo stated, “I’ve definitely seen your face before. You’re a famous model too, aren’t you?”

Jongin was unable to formulate words, so he simply nodded, though he didn’t consider himself famous.

“Sorry, he’s kind of shy. It’ funny because the first thing he talked about when we met him was you. He was gushing about you and how sad he was that he couldn’t meet you.” Minseok grinned at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo send a firm but understanding nod back to Minseok and Jongin looked down at the ground. Sehun put a comforting hand around Jongin’s waist.

“Well, it looks like we’ll be getting to know each other. Would you like a tour of the greenhouse, Jongin? It’s my favorite place.” Kyungsoo offered. Jongin immediately looked up and nodded. He told the group he would meet up with them later and excitedly followed Kyungsoo.

“Anyway, Kyungsoo is one of our settlers. We don’t have many people here, but everyone is very kind. With you five, I believe we will now have thirteen residents. We had thirty until two days ago when a group went out and never returned.” Yixing heaved a sigh.

“Is the creator of Exodus Hotels here, by any chance?” Sehun asked Yixing.

“Yes, he is! I believe he is available right now. Would you like me to take you to him?” Yixing responded.

The group nodded and were led to the third floor. Yixing brought them in front of wooden double doors. He knocked gently on the door and a ‘come in’ was heard from the other side. Yixing opened the door and let them in. They were greeted with the faces of a brunette male and a charcoal-haired male, looking slightly older than the others they had encountered.

The older male looked at them with warm eyes.

“You must be the newcomers. I was the one talking to you all. Didn’t you have another person with you?” He asked. He must have seen them through the camera.

“He ran into Do Kyungsoo and he’s a huge fanboy.” Lu Han laughed.

“I see,” The male stood up and gestured to the other seats around the large table, “Sit, sit! Make yourselves at home.”

The group sat, including Yixing who took a seat next to the brunette.

The group introduced themselves to the dark-haired male, who introduced himself as Tanaka Hiroshi. He informed them that he was a scientist living in Japan, until his father gave him Exodus Hotels in his will when he died. He moved to South Korea twelve years ago, when he was only eighteen, to run Exodus Hotel. He slowly added parts onto the hotel that would secure it for the apocalypse.

“Oh, how rude of me, I haven’t had a chance to introduce you to the settlement’s leader. This is Kim Junmyeon.”

Immediately, everyone snapped their heads in Junmyeon’s direction. He looked at them with widened eyes.

“Oh no, what did I do?” Junmyeon asked, alarmed by the sudden attention.

Sehun dug in his bag and took out Junmyeon’s papers from the shack. “I believe these belong to you. We were unsure of where to go until we found these. It’s an honor for us to meet you.” Sehun slid the papers to Junmyeon.

“I can’t believe you found these. Thank you for looking for me, it’s an honor to meet you all.” Junmyeon thanked them profusely, as he excitedly flipped through his own papers. He pointed at certain parts of the documents and urged Yixing to look at them.

“It really helped us out. Combined with the knowledge that all of us respectively have on this apocalypse, we have been able to survive thus far.” Jongdae ran a hand through his hair.

Hiroshi’s attention was caught when he saw the device on Jongdae’s arm.

“Could that be? No way.” Hiroshi stated, learning over from where he was sitting to look at Jongdae’s arm.

“It’s called an L-1485.” Jongdae stated, holding out his arm for Hiroshi to see the device better.

“That smart bastard,” Hiroshi’s eyes lit up, “Did you get these from an Ito Jun by any chance?”

“Actually, yes. We were staying in his vault before the fallout. Do you know him?” Sehun asked.

“Very well, actually. We knew each other when we both lived in Japan and then we met again here in college. He’s two years my junior, so when he moved here ten years ago and started college, I invited him to live with me. We created the concept of the L-1485 together. It was actually called the C9 at first. I didn’t have the skills or knowledge that he had, so he focused more on building it, while I retrieved knowledge. I was studying Journalism, so it was easy for me to get information on the SOA. He was studying to become a doctor and finished his degree at lightning speed. Even though he was working nights at the hospital, he spent every day developing the L-1485. He was also working on weapons, or ammo, I can’t remember. We lost contact a couple of years ago. He was too paranoid that the government knew what he was doing, so he dropped off of the map. He was one smart man.” Hiroshi smiled at the memories.

“Damn, you’re making me sad I never met the guy.” Minseok stated.

“Same. We’re missing out on so much.” Lu Han responded.

“Well, if we survive the SOA, you might get a chance at meeting him.” Sehun said.

“He’s alive? Thank God. I thought that he may have started off with you guys and not have made it.” Hiroshi put a hand to his heart.

“You know Jun. He would keep himself holed up in that vault until the day he died.” Jongdae stated. He, Sehun, and Hiroshi laughed at the remark. Lu Han and Minseok looked at each other confused and forced out laughter. Junmyeon was too immersed in showing Yixing the blueprint for the Power Armor to pay attention to the conversation.

“Jun said that he will help us rebuild if we manage to kill Jaehyun and take down the SOA.” Jongdae traced an ident in the wooden table with his fingernail.

“If you want some help with that, Exodus will be more than happy to accompany you.” Junmyeon piped in, “They have taken far too much from us and I’m ready to see Jaehyun bleed.”

“I like the way you think,” Minseok smirked, “I wouldn’t mind smashing his brains in one bit.”

“Do all of you at Exodus think the same way, or are there some people here that are too much of pussies to fight back?” Lu Han asked, quirking a brow.

“Nah, we definitely all think that way,” Yixing started, “That’s why we make it a must every day to go to the shooting range and practice.”

“You have a shooting range?” Lu Han asked.

“Yep,” Hiroshi stated, “Built one outside. I tried to make the surrounding area as soundproof as possible too, so some of those government officials don’t hear.”

“Can’t forget about the target practice room, either.” Junmyeon excitedly said as he neatly placed all of his papers together.

“Where.” Was all Lu Han said.

“Basement. It’s amazing—actually, how about I show you?” Junmyeon stood up.

“Fuck yeah, let’s go.” Minseok shot up, the rest of the group following in suit.

The first place Junmyeon showed them was the target practice room in the basement. There were a variety of weapons to choose from, as well as moving targets and stationery ones. There were also cushioned mats in the corner that Yixing pointed to.

“We actually have a resident here that teaches Wushu. It’s really beneficial, as dodging and having fast reflexes is crucial for some enemies. If you even think of trying to go against a Sentry bot without any of those skills, you may as well kiss life goodbye.” Yixing stated.

“Sentry bot?” Jongdae asked curiously.

“Have you ever seen an assaultron?” Junmyeon asked. The group nodded, “Think that, but bulkier, more armor, and they have mini nukes on them.”

“Yeah, I’m learning Wushu. Don’t want to die by the hands of a glorified microwave.” Lu Han cracked his neck.

Sehun chucked at his comment. A tall male with obsidian-colored hair and intimidating eyes made his way down the stairs.

“Ah, there’s the man of the hour, and a fellow Chinese resident. He’s the one that teaches Wushu.” Yixing signaled for the male to make his way over. He did so and gave a lopsided grin. Yixing introduced the group to the male.

And this is Huang Zitao.” Yixing said. Zitao bent over in a greeting, adjusting his loose fitting tank top as he bent back up.

“Nice to meet you all. Where in China are you from?” Zitao asked Lu Han after he heard his last name.

“I’m from Beijing. What about you?”

“Shandong.” Zitao responded.

“Both of those places are okay, but not as good as Hunan.” Yixing smirked.

“Yeah, right.” Lu Han and Zitao said in unison.

Minseok and Jongdae turned to watch someone using a punching bag in the corner of the room while the other males talked about their hometowns. The male they were watching was strikingly tall blonde with a frown etched on his face.

Sehun was laughing at the banter in front of him and Junmyeon smiled as he watched.

“What did you say your name was?” Zitao asked, now looking at Sehun.

“Oh Sehun.” Sehun responded, eyeing Zitao.

Zitao looked Sehun up and down and grinned, gaze lingering on Sehun for a bit too long. He clicked his tongue and grinned.

“See, he’s Korean, so we can talk shit about him in Mandarin and he’ll have no idea.” Lu Han quickly interjected when he saw the exchange.

“I will not be participating in that. Sehun doesn’t deserve that!” Yixing crossed his arms.

“What makes you say that? You don’t even know him,” Lu Han retorted, “His neutral expression makes him look like he wanted to beat people up for fun.”

“No,” Yixing grabbed Sehun’s arm in defense. Sehun stood there confused at how a stranger that intimidated him turned into a child in front of his very eyes, “He’s cute and I saw him smile. Leave him alone.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Lu Han rolled his eyes.

Minseok and Jongdae returned to the group after watching the other male in the room.

“Who is that guy? He looks like a muscular string bean with that height.” Minseok pointed behind him with his thumb at the male next to the punching bag.

“That’s Wu Yifan, our final Chinese resident. He came to South Korea days before the apocalypse on tour. Managed to survive and came here. I guess he’s a famous rapper in America or something.” Yixing shrugged.

“Hey, Yifan, over here!” Zitao yelled. Yifan cocked his head in the direction and trudged over.

“Yifan, these are our new residents. Minseok, Jongdae, Lu Han,” Yixing started.

“And Sehun.” ZItao finished.

“Nice to meet you all,” Yifan smiled. Though his features were extremely intimidating, he offered a warm smile at them, “I’m still training, so I’m sorry for cutting this short. I hope to see you at lunch.” Yifan smiled once more and wiped a bead of sweat from his arched brow.

After some more conversing, Yixing told the group he could show them the shooting range. They went back up the stairs and were greeted by Kyungsoo and Jongin. Jongin ran over to the group and beamed.

“Guys, they have running water. Non-radiated and clean water. And I guess the showers are heated too.” Jongin’s smile was contagious. Kyungsoo was looking at Jongin’s excited expression and smiled as well.

“Shit, I could use a warm shower.” Minseok gave a thumbs up.

“Want to come up to the shooting range? Yixing is going to show it to us.” Sehun asked Jongin.

“Sure, want to come with, Soo?” Jongin looked over to the shorter.

“Yeah, I’ll come with.” Kyungsoo responded.

Yixing led them up the stairs. He informed them that the first floor was mainly the lobby, the second floor was the regular gym and restaurant, the third floor was the meeting floor, and the fourth floor was the resident floor.

“There are many rooms in the hotel, but the only rule we have is for everyone to have a roommate, if possible. It’s ultimately safer in case anything happens in the middle of the night.” Junmyeon stated.

“For example, I room with Junmyeon. He woke up in the middle of the night once and an injury he got while we were out was being exacerbated. If I wasn’t in there to help him, it would have surely gotten infected.” Yixing frowned at the memory.

Sehun subconsciously ran a thumb on his cheek where he felt he was getting an infection.

“We can figure out rooming later for you all,” Junmyeon said, showing them the door to the shooting range. “I don’t know if you saw it from outside, but the outdoor area on the second floor is the shooting range. We have bulletproof and soundproof glass surrounding it. We also have the glass created so outsiders cannot see inside.” He opened the door. The sounds from the shooting range could now be heard. Junmyeon led them inside. Sehun looked at the people in the shooting range. There were only two other people. A tall male with fiery hair and a shorter male with dark hair.

“Wait,” Sehun said, “Chanyeol and Baekhyun?”

Just as Sehun said their names out loud, the two glanced over at the door and broke out into big smiles. They set down their guns and took off their ear deafening earmuffs worn while shooting. They ran over and Baekhyun enveloped Sehun in a hug, while Chanyeol hugged Jongdae. The two went hugging the group until they made it to everyone, except for Jongin.

“I can’t believe you guys made it!” Baekhyun smiled, “We were so worried about you guys.”

“We were worried about you two, as well! We saw a motorcycle on the route to here and thought you guys didn’t make it.” Jongdae frowned.

“We did run into some trouble, but I luckily had some protection on me to take care of this one.” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun into a side hug.

“Never thought I would see you two again,” Minseok admitted, “You look like a giant and helpless puppy,” Minseok pointed to Chanyeol, “And he looks like he would cry if the wind blew the wrong way.”

“Ignore him. Asshole pretty much describes his personality.” Lu Han stated.

“I could say the same for you, kid.” Minseok retorted.

“I’m barely younger than you. Who are you calling kid? At least I don’t reek of cigarettes on a daily basis.” Lu Han glared at Minseok.

“At least I don’t look like an adult baby.” Minseok glared right back.

“It’s not my fault I was born with perfect skin and chiseled cheekbones. You probably can’t relate.” Lu Han huffed.

“I outta-“ Minseok was cut off by Jongdae putting a hand over his mouth.

“Sometimes silence is the best option,” Jongdae uncomfortably laughed, “You two didn’t meet Jongin, did you? I think we met him after our encounter.”

“No, we didn’t meet.” Baekhyun bowed at Jongin.

“It’s good to meet you.” Jongin gave him his signature smile.

“You too, though I have definitely seen your face plastered all over my favorite clothing website.” Chanyeol laughed. Jongin blushed in embarrassment.

“Don’t worry,” Kyungsoo started, “Fame doesn’t really matter at this point anymore. We’re all just regular people.”

Jongin nodded at Kyungsoo’s statement.

“Let me show you to the available rooms, okay? After that, we can have lunch.” Yixing stated. Baekhyun and Chanyeol waved goodbye and resumed shooting when the group left. They were led to the fourth floor.

“There is mine and Junmyeon’s room,” Yixing pointed to the first room on the floor, “Next to ours is Yifan and Zitao’s room, then Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s. Since we had an uneven number, Kyungsoo was staying by himself, much to our chagrin.”

“We forgot to mention, the lobby does have a master suite that belongs to Hiroshi. He does a lot of research in there, and the room is probably more secure than Fort Knox, so we don’t worry too much.” Junmyeon added.

“So, one of you can choose to stay with Kyungsoo if he’s cool with that and then you need to pair up and choose rooms.” Yixing finished.

“Jongin can stay with me,” Kyungsoo said, already opening the door to let Jongin in, “Each room has a shower and bath, so take your pick. Towels are in the cabinet.” Jongin had already excitedly entered the bathroom. Kyungsoo chuckled and waved goodbye to the group as he closed the door.

“Alright. Well, I know that we aren’t pairing up Lu Han and Minseok because, while I don’t know you guys, you’ll probably kill each other. Maybe Minseok and Sehun and Jongdae with Lu Han?” Yixing debated the idea in his head.

“I think Jongdae has been the one to stop Minseok from killing Lu Han, so let’s have Minseok and Jongdae in one room and Lu Han with Sehun in the other.” Junmyeon looked expectantly at the newcomers, who simply shrugged and nodded. Lu Han and Sehun took the room next to Kyungsoo and Jongin’s. They entered the hotel room and marveled in it’s appearance. There was a small kitchen in the corner of the living room part of the room. There was a royal blue couch placed neatly against the wall, an image of New York City placed above it. Near the door was a screen that showed the entrance to Exodus Hotels and an alarm button. On the right wall was a cabinet for them to place their belongings. Sehun opened the door to the left to reveal a bathroom. The bathroom had a claw foot tub in the middle of it, and a large shower that took up the back wall. On the right side of the hotel was a bedroom. There were two queen sized beds in the room.

“I feel like royalty staying here. It’s so much different than the shacks and decrepit buildings we had found on the way here.” Lu Han hummed and sat down at the edge of the bed.

“Man, the bed is so soft too,” Sehun bounced his palms on the soft mattress, “Your back is going to feel amazing tomorrow.”

“No kidding.” Lu Han collapsed backwards on the bed and groaned in satisfaction.

“Do you mind if I go take a shower?” Sehun asked, setting his bag on the bed.

Lu Han kept his eyes closed and a smile on his face, “Go for it.”

Sehun left for the shower and came back a little while later. “Sorry, I forgot clothes.” He laughed. Lu Han cracked open an eye to look at Sehun. His hair was dripping wet and Sehun had a towel around his waist. He was heavily bruised on his body, but Lu Han still eyed Sehun’s toned body and broad shoulders.

“Dude, not safe for work.” Lu Han playfully covered his eyes.

“Oh, my bad. Don’t act like you are opposed to seeing a beautiful young man without clothes on.” Sehun joked.

“Put on your clothes before I puke,” Lu Han chucked and pulled out clothes from his bad, “I’m going to remember to actually grab clothes. You should put yours away while I’m gone.” He laughed again. Sehun took his bag with his belongings and began to take out the rest of his clothes to put in the cabinet and a shirt to put on.

Sehun wasn’t exactly wrong. Lu Han may have enjoyed the view, but he couldn’t give the younger the satisfaction of knowing.

“Yes, sir.” Sehun saluted Lu Han as he pulled on a sweater.

After Lu Han showered and came back into the room, the duo headed toward the restaurant that was on the second floor. The restaurant was also the general kitchen and eatery. Since Exodus had been prepared for years, the food storage was abundant. Fresh fruits and vegetables were growing in the garden and also placed in the refrigerator.

Kyungsoo was standing in front of the stove, his forest green sweater rolled up to his elbows. Jongin sat at a chair he pulled into the kitchen and leaned on the large stainless-steel table. Jongin was practically leaning over the table while watching Kyungsoo cook, an abandoned cutting board with a haphazardly cut tomato on it in front of him. Lu Han teasingly put a finger under Jongin’s chin and closed his mouth.

“Be careful, you might drool.” Lu Han winked at Jongin, who went out of his trance to look at Lu Han.

“I’m not!” Jongin frowned. Kyungsoo turned from the stove at the new voices.

“Oh, Lu Han and Sehun, right? Just in time. We should be eating soon.” Kyungsoo smiled at Lu Han and Sehun.

“Want some help?” Sehun asked as he approached the stove.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Do you remember when we tried to make cupcakes, my dear Sehunnie?” A voice came from the table in the other room. Not soon after, in came Jongdae crossing his arms.

“That was one time! One!” Sehun pouted. Lu Han chuckled at the younger, as that was probably the most expression he had given since they met.

“Maybe for cupcakes. Did you suddenly forget when we put the Kobe beef directly on charcoal? Our teacher nearly had a heart attack.”

“He said he wanted it smoked. We were just trying to do what he asked.” Sehun shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“He got it smoked. And burned. Kobe beef, Sehun! KOBE!” Jongdae whined, “Long story short, don’t let him do anything other than make coffee, Kyungsoo.”

“I’ll note that. Maybe I shouldn’t let any of you newcomers cook, since some of you can’t seem to even cut a tomato.” Kyungsoo joked and eyed Jongin.

Minseok came in through the out door of the kitchen, a green apple with a bite taken out of it in hand, “You’re going to have to stop staring eventually, kid. How creepy is it going to be if Kyungsoo needs to get up in the middle of the night to piss, and there’s a sad puppy looking at him?”

“I don’t-“ Jongin pleaded, “Kyungsoo, I’m not creepy, I promise. They’re just bullies!”

Sehun frowned at Jongin, feeling bad for him. He went next to him and pat him on the back. Kyungsoo and Lu Han both watched Sehun as he did so.

“I don’t, no worries. I have enough remarks to make them cry for the both of us.” Kyungsoo winked at Jongin, whose mouth fell open.

Lu Han rolled his eyes, “So, should I go yell at everyone to get in here and eat?” He asked.

Kyungsoo looked up at the clock on the wall, “No, It’s almost half past noon. We eat every day around this time, so everyone knows to come in.”

Lu Han nodded and took the cutting board with the tomato to finish cutting it for Kyungsoo. Minseok took the ingredients on the counter next to Kyungsoo.

“Salad?” Minseok quirked a brow.

“Yeah, I just need the cucumber and carrots julienned. The rest of the stuff is in the fridge. Oh, and sesame seeds.” Kyungsoo kicked to the direction of the spice rack.

Sehun and Jongdae began to walk over to the fridge and Minseok put out a hand, “No, no. Go away,” He went over and shooed them with both of his hands, “Sit, children.”

Sehun and Jongdae grumbled and sat against the wall in the kitchen. Lu Han finished with the tomatoes.

“What do I do with these?” He asked.

“They’re going to go into the spaghetti. If you could just stir the sauce while I drain the pasta, that would be great.” Kyungsoo responded.

The others watched helplessly in the kitchen, until they heard everything was prepared. They made themselves useful and set the table. Sure enough, the rest of the settlement rolled in when Kyungsoo said they would.

The food was brought to the table and everyone made themselves comfortable, a warm plate of spaghetti in front of them and a salad adjacent.

“So,” Lu Han spoke through a mouthful of spaghetti, “When can we go infiltrate the SOA? In a couple of days?”

Junmyeon and Hiroshi looked at each other and burst out in laughter, “God, no. We are going to need a long time to get strong enough.” Hiroshi said.

“Look, Lu Han, I’m not judging your strength, as I’m sure it’s a lot since you have made it this far, but we would all be dead if we went now.” Junmyeon wiped the corner of his mouth.

Lu Han huffed and continued chewing, pasta sauce dribbling slightly down his chin.

“If it makes you feel any better, I asked the same thing. Instead of nicely being told that, I was slapped on the arm by Zitao and called stupid.” Yifan shrugged.

“It was a stupid question.” Zitao simply replied.

“Speaking of stupid, Lu Han, you have some pasta sauce on your face.” Minseok pointed to his own face to show Lu Han where it was.

Lu Han sent Minseok a finger and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

The group talked and got to know each other a bit better as they ate.

“I think he cried for three hours after it happened,” Chanyeol chuckled.

“I did not! It was two. I was just so sad.” Baekhyun frowned.

“Aww, come here,” Chanyeol set down his fork to cradle Baekhyun’s head to his chest.

“I didn’t know dogs could get radiated, that’s all. I wanted to take it with me and name it something cute like Vivi or something.” Baekhyun sighed.

“You didn’t know dogs could get radiated? Are you stupid, or just really gullible?” Lu Han stated, “Of course they can. If bears can become demonic, flesh-eating monsters, you thought a dog would stay normal?”

“Hey,” Baekhyun shot up from the embrace of Chanyeol, “This whole thing is new to me. You can knock off that personality you have because you’re not fooling anyone. You act tough, but you’re scared too, I know it.” He was about to add something else, but Chanyeol squeezed his hand to quiet him.

Lu Han didn’t respond. He looked down at his plate and swirled the noodles on his spoon. As the group continued chatting, Sehun took note of Lu Han’s silence and nudged him underneath the table.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone here is pretty much a stranger right now. We’ll get to know them, alright? Everyone is handling this new world differently, and you need to cope in what way you feel necessary.” Sehun whispered to Lu Han.

Lu Han looked up at Sehun. He was still baffled at how he was being treated nicely by the younger, and how the younger managed to comfort him with the few words he spoke.

 “Thank you.”  Lu Han responded and picked up his fork.

After cleaning up the kitchen, most people in the settlement spent the rest of the day practicing in the gym or shooting range. Hiroshi and Junmyeon also had a demo on techniques against certain armor and enemies that the SOA each day. Sehun took notes of everything they said in his L-1485. Junmyeon’s notes that he had discovered offered him an abundance of information but being able to actually listen to him in person was amazing to Sehun. He had an immense amount of respect for anyone who collected and researched information about the apocalypse and government, so he idolized Hiroshi and Junmyeon.

At night, the group ate together and most went to their rooms for the night. The newcomers of Exodus were quite anxious to get to bed, as it would be one of the most comfortable nights in a long time. Sehun and Lu Han changed and collapsed onto their beds. Sehun ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes.

“I can’t believe we finally made it. For the apocalypse happening not too long ago, we sure have gone through a lot, haven’t we?” He said, eyes still closed, but the ghost of a smile was on his face.

“No fucking kidding. I think that night of withdrawals took like thirty years off of my life. I hope I don’t get wrinkles from it.” Lu Han laughed. He was laying on his stomach and had hi head resting in a nest of pillows, face in the direction of the other male.

“Yeah, wrinkles to make you look twenty instead of twelve.” Sehun was now looking at Lu Han and grinning. He stretched his hands up, shirt riding up to expose a strip of skin on his stomach.

“One more joke about how I look and you’ll wake up with no eyebrows,” Lu Han groaned, “You act like I look like an infant.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Not quite infant, but like a teenager. I’ll give you that,” Sehun rolled over to lay on his stomach and prop himself up on his elbows, “But, with your hair out of your face, you look like you’re a child.”

Lu Han immediately retracted his hands from his hair and let his hair fall back onto his forehead. His fair skin and light hair almost blended together.

“You’re lucky I deal with you,” Lu Han rolled his eyes and then closed them, “Hey. Let’s go practice Wushu tomorrow morning.” Lu Han said before dozing off.

Sehun may have uttered an ‘okay’ back, but Lu Han was already asleep.

…

The next morning, Sehun woke up first. He eyed Lu Han’s bed. Lu Han was almost entirely covered by the comforter, the only thing poking out was his blonde hair and furrowed brows. Sehun quietly got up and ready. By the time he made it out of the bathroom, Lu Han was tiredly sitting at the edge of the bed and in a daze. His gaze was focused on the wall and his brows were still furrowed.

“Hey, pretty boy, put on some work out clothes if you still want to meet Zitao for Wushu.” Sehun said, entering the bedroom. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a fitted black t-shirt. Lu Han looked up and yawned.

“I made a horrible mistake saying I wanted to do Wushu, didn’t I?” He asked.

“Probably.”

After throwing on a black hoodie, sweatpants, and a bandana around his forehead, Lu Han and Sehun were out the door. They went into the kitchen to get coffee. Minseok and Jongdae were already up, giggling to each other over cups of coffee and sitting quite close to each other.

“Morning.” Lu Han waved at them, a bored expression on his face.

The two moved away from each other slightly and waved back. Both were wearing hoodies and Minseok had his hood pulled up.

“You guys going to Wushu too?” Jongdae asked.

“Yep, but it’s too damn early.” Lu Han responded. Sehun held up a container of sugar and a teaspoon to Lu Han, seemingly to ask him how many sugars he wanted. Lu Han held up two fingers.

“It’s nine in the morning.” Minseok responded, taking a drink of his coffee. Lu Han watched him elbow Jongdae and whisper something, which was returned with a musical laugh from the brunette.

“I stand by my statement.” Lu Han took the coffee Sehun handed him and moved to the table to sit. Sehun came over moments after with his cup in his hand.

Lu Han and Sehun watched another exchange in between Minseok and Jongdae and looked at each other for a moment.

“I’m scared that Zitao is going to beat me up, though. Have you seen him? Scary.” Jongdae frowned.

“Intimidating, maybe.” Sehun responded.

“He’s really handsome, though.” Minseok stated and Jongdae nodded in agreement.

“That he is, but I feel like everyone I have met here is, if I’m honest. It’s like they could form a boyband or something.” Sehun swirled the coffee in his cup.

“Everyone you have met here? What about the people you knew before Exodus, huh? Are you saying we’re ugly?” Minseok joked, yet his expression was intimidating.

“Oh, stop. He knows that his best friend is beautiful. We were scouted to be models before.” Jongdae flipped his non-existent long hair over his shoulder.

“Dae, we were twelve.” Sehun responded, “But, to answer your question, yes, you are beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Jongdae said sounding smitten.

Minseok eyed Sehun with an expectant look. Sehun rolled his eyes.

“And you are handsome, Minseok. And you too, Lu Han, before you grumble at me for me not telling you you’re hot to your face.” Sehun said.

“To your face, huh?” Minseok grinned, “Interesting. Anyway,” He stood up, “Let’s get to Wushu.”

Lu Han kept a smirk to himself as they headed to the basement. They were greeted by the usual Yifan punching a punching bag and Zitao stretching on the mats. His eyes lit up when he saw the group.

“You guys are the only ones that decided to come, I guess.” Zitao stood up, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

After three hours of practicing and throwing off their shirts, the four newcomers laid sprawled out on the mats, sweating and exhausted. Zitao was crouched on the ground, not a bead of sweat present.

“I guess I’ll give you a break for now.” Zitao pat Sehun reassuringly on the chest and Sehun groaned.

“I’ll get that flip down by the time I’m 85.” Jongdae whined.

“Why does it look so easy on screen?” Minseok muttered.

“I guess it’s harder because you have to use your whole body and find your core strength.” Lu Han wiped his face with his discarded hoodie sleeve.

“And the best part is,” Zitao started, “Those are just the basics. I can’t wait to get to butterfly kicks.”

Yifan laughed from the other side of the room, assumedly the only other person besides Zitao that knew what a butterfly kick was.

“At least you’re a good teacher.” Sehun propped himself up on his elbows.

“Damn right I am,” Zitao grinned at the younger, “Also, you should go to Hiroshi to check on your cheek,” Zitao put a hand up and cupped Sehun’s cheek. He ran a finger around the rim of the injury, “Looks pretty bad.”

“I will. Thanks.” Sehun sent Zitao a quick smile and leaned back to throw his hands over his face. Zitao’s lingering look went unnoticed to Sehun, but not past Lu Han. Lu Han crawled over to lay next to Sehun and Zitao. Jongdae had his head resting on Minseok’s chest and was showing him something of his L-1485.

“Those things are pretty cool. You were telling us that it can calculate radiation and Red Force?” Zitao asked, taking Sehun’s arm from his face to examine the L-1485. He held his arm with one hand and examined the screens with the other. Sehun sat up so he could show him the features.

“Yeah, isn’t it great? It has saved us quite a few times. Lu over here almost died and we almost walked through some heavily radiated cities.” Sehun turned the knob to show him the screen with the map.

“Nice, I never had a chance to see Red Force, or anyone infected for the matter. Not that I think that’s really a bad thing.” Zitao leaned against Sehun and looked at the screen in bewilderment.

“It’s really unnerving. We saw people on the streets, but dealing with someone hands-on is one of the most difficult things,” Sehun looked over at Lu Han, “But it’s worth it, huh?”

Lu Han made eye contact with Sehun and smiled.

“You’re telling me that you had to fight one of those assholes that took RF?” Zitao’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, well, not exactly. Lu Han got cut by something that had Red Force on it and it went into his bloodstream. He was having horrible withdrawals, so I had to go to some extremes to keep him alive.” Sehun pat Lu Han’s shin.

“You’re the first survivor I have ever heard of. That’s crazy.” Zitao murmured a ‘wow’ under his breath.

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.” Sehun switched the screen again, so it showed the information he input about the SOA.

“You have to really care for someone to risk your life.” Zitao said in a distracted tone, mouthing the words on the screen.

“Sehun is a really sweet person,” Jongdae finally chimed in, lifting his head up slightly, “He may not look it, but he’s just a big baby.”

“He’s a brat.” Minseok winked at Sehun.

“Stop talking about me, you’re making me shy.” Sehun hid his face. Zitao rubbed his back and mouthed ‘aww’. Lu Han’s smile was still plastered on his face.

“So, let’s get back to it, alright? We have a little while before lunch. I’m training Kyungsoo and Chanyeol after, so you are free to do whatever you want.” Zitao stood up, holding his hands out for Lu Han and Sehun.

“You’re training that red-haired guy?” Yifan piped in from the punching bag, not a trace of exhaustion on his face, “I saw him trip on air earlier, Tao. You’re screwed.”

…

After lunch, that was kindly prepared by Yixing and Kyungsoo, the group showered and made their way to the meeting room to see Hiroshi. He was sitting at the table, a cigarette in between his lips and his dark hair falling into his face.

“What’s with the long face, boss?” Minseok asked, pulling out one of his own cigarettes.

Hiroshi ran his hands across his face before looking up at them.

“Jaehyun has been broadcasting,” Hiroshi gestured to the, now off, television. It was pretty much useless, sans the occasional broadcasts the SOA made, “They have new ‘methods of destruction’, according to him. I guess they completed their synths. Some of them look dangerously real, pretty much unrecognizable as a synth. I’m afraid that means we can’t let in anymore survivors. Also, Liberty Prime.”

“Liberty who? That thing in New York?” Jongdae asked and Minseok smacked himself in the face at the discrepancies in Jongdae’s comment.

“Liberty Prime. Did you ever watch that American movie, _Iron Giant_?” Hiroshi asked.

“Hiro, they probably have no idea what you’re talking about.” Junmyeon walked through the doors of the meeting room, Yixing in tow.

“I’ve seen it. Giant friendly robot guy?” Lu Han asked.

“Okay, you’ve lost me.” Minseok gave Lu Han a quizzical look.

“Okay, forget the movie,” Hiroshi shook his hands erratically in the air, “In layman’s terms, Liberty Prime is a giant robot. It stands about forty feet tall and is designed to kill a human in seconds. The SOA stated that it has the ability to shoot lasers and is resistant to nearly all weapons. It is going to be debuted in two months or less.” Hiroshi slammed his forehead on his desk.

“Woah, woah. Calm down. Two months is quite a bit of time. What’s the problem?” Lu Han asked.

“They’re doing trial runs right now. That means that all of the people trying to rebuild their settlements could get eradicated sooner than expected. They’re probably going to target the smaller cities first. So many more people are going to die. They’re trying to encourage survivors to join the SOA and are using Liberty Prime as a threat.”

“Fuck, that’s horrible. I wonder how many people will go with them?” Minseok frowned.

“On the screen, they showed a few that they had join. They look like prisoners.” Yixing scratched his temple.

“They pretty much are. Prisoners that can risk their lives for the SOA.” Junmyeon said.

“How long has everyone here since before the apocalypse been practicing?” Lu Han asked, “You know, like defense and stuff.”

“Months. Why?” Hiroshi asked.

“We have to get off of our asses and infiltrate the SOA’s office before they make Liberty Prime official. You know damn well the first place they’ll come when they recruit as many people as they can is here. This is the strongest safehouse in all of South Korea.” Lu Han finished.

“That’s ridiculous,” Junmyeon groaned, “There’s no way.”

“Well,” Hiroshi started, “I wouldn’t say that there’s no way.”

Yixing and Junmyeon looked to Hiroshi, “What do you have going on that you haven’t told us?”

“Follow me to my room.” Hiroshi said.

They made it to the front of Hiroshi’s room and he keyed in a code. Once he opened the door, everyone glanced in awe. His walls were plastered with blueprints and scribbles of new information on the SOA. It was essentially a workshop with a bed in it.

“When the SOA first announced Power Armor and I talked to Jun, I had some ideas up my sleeve and started working on this.” Hiroshi pressed a button and part of the floor came up, revealing a copper colored Power Armor. The work on it was impeccable. Sehun questioned just how skilled Hiroshi was when he saw it. Hiroshi may be young, but he was educated enough for all of them.

“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re just a pretty face,” Minseok said as he approached the Power Armor, “This is fucking sick.”

“Thank you. I also have a couple more things going on in that room there,” Hiroshi pointed at the door on the right wall, “I couldn’t believe it at first when Baekhyun got here that the kid was a computer geek. He helped me program some scrap robots and stuff that I had. Yifan has been a great help, too. He can work with metal like it’s paper.”

“When do you get the time to work on this?” Lu Han asked, “I always see Yifan training.”

“Usually nights. Baekhyun comes here a lot in the day to program and we work at night, too. Chanyeol helps a lot too, he’s great with the soldering tool.” Hiroshi smiled.

“To think that I thought they were helpless.” Minseok made a face of approval.

“Oh, not at all,” Yixing piped in, “Have you seen Baekhyun shoot? He uses a Fat Man that’s half his size like it’s nothing!”

“And Chanyeol with Atom’s Judgement! That kid is no joke.” Junmyeon added.

“What kind of names are those?” Minseok grinned.

“Fat Man? What the hell, what idiot named that?” Lu Han laughed along with Minseok.

“Um, do you know anything about history? Fat Man was the codename of the atomic bomb that was detonated above Nagasaki. I’m from Nagasaki, so I figured it was appropriate. Anyway,” Hiroshi stated, “It’s a nuke launcher that uses this ammo that kind of looks like a blimp, but fatter. It’s one of the trickiest weapons to use, hence why we have a specialized area that’s restricted access in the basement. The ammo is extremely powerful. I have never used it on Power Armor, but I have no doubt that it would obliterate it.”

“Atom’s Judgement is a sledgehammer that is paired with fusion cores. Aside from the Fat Man, it’s probably one of the most powerful weapons out there.”

“Fusion cores? I think Jun mentioned that stuff before.” Sehun said.

“That would make sense. We worked on a lot together. I actually have a charging station over there with some on it,” Hiroshi pointed to a desk. On it was a fusion core. The top of it was gray and slightly represented the round base of a crank. The bottom was a bright yellow, “Those things are strong because they’re powered off of radiation.”

The group backed away from the fusion cores.

“You sleep in a room with radiation in it?” Minseok looked at Hiroshi.

“Well, yes. But, it’s such a condensed version and is safely tucked away that it’s harmless.”

“Uh-huh.” Lu Han said, unconvinced.

“Really, it is! Even in that thing, there’s another tubing around the radiation. Even if you shot it in the room, we would all be okay. Only the person directly hit by it gets radiated.” Hiroshi finished.

“How do you get the radiation?” Jongdae asked.

“See that right there?” Hiroshi pointed to a charging station planted on the ground, “That tubing connects to outside. If you saw something that looked like a generator out there, it isn’t. That’s where the radiation is collected. It is a blessing when we get those radiated thunderstorms. They’re powered off of that.”

“Okay, enough of this, my brain hurts. I need a drink.” Minseok dramatically massaged his temples.

“It’s two-thirty.” Jongdae said, patting Minseok on the back.

“Your point?” Minseok responded.

Jongdae sighed and they went into ballroom in the lobby. It served as a living room. Furniture looking suspiciously out of the ballroom in The Shining greeted them, as well as a large bar filled with liquor. Baekhyun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo were sitting on one of the couches, drinking tea. They had a board game on the table in front of them, seemingly abandoned as the group talked. Sehun had told the group he would meet up with them later, after he got his cheek checked by Hiroshi.

“Who wants to do shots?” Minseok asked.

“I’m not doing shots this early. How about we wait a couple of hours?” Kyungsoo said, taking a drink of his tea.

“Fine,” Minseok rolled his eyes, “Screw you for wanting to be responsible.”

“While we wait, want to play me in a game of pool?” Baekhyun asked Minseok.

“Yeah, but I have to warn you, I’m pretty good. I’ve gotten into some bar fights over it.” Minseok crossed his arms.

Baekhyun set his cup of tea down and brushed the crinkles from his shirt. “I’ve been told I’m not too bad either.”

“Bet on it then. Loser has to do whatever the winner says.” Lu Han stated from sitting cross legged on the floor.

“Deal. Set up the game, kid.” Minseok grinned at Baekhyun and grabbed a pool cue from the rack.

Yifan, Junmyeon, and Chanyeol made their way into the ballroom and sat with the group. The ones not playing pool decided to play a game of Clue. Chanyeol set up the game, immediately reaching for Colonel Mustard for his character.

“But I don’t want to be Miss Peacock.” Jongin frowned and begrudgingly put down the blue token.

“No one wants Miss Peacock; that’s why you have to be her since you have the advantage of having a two-person team.” Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders.

Yifan shuffled the cards and took a card from each pile, carefully putting them in the envelope so no one could see.

“Let the games begin.” Chanyeol said, a competitive look in his eyes.

…

Yixing joined in the ballroom not long after, peering his head in when he heard yelling.

“No, that’s six, not five! I’m not showing you one of my cards, you cheater!” Chanyeol yelled to Kyungsoo.

“That is five, maybe you should get your eyes checked, you giant. Cough up the card and let me see.” Kyungsoo grinned. Jongin was too scared to say anything to his team mate. Kyungsoo turned into a whole other person when it came to games, especially about murder, and Park Chanyeol. Lu Han speaking in rapid Mandarin with Yifan about their last turn, seemingly finding a tactic on how to win the game together. Minseok was furiously pointing at the red solid ball on the pool table and Baekhyun had his hands in his hair.

“You can’t put the cue ball there! It has to go past these two points, idiot!” Minseok stated.

“It is behind it! No one said that it couldn’t be in line with it. You’re just bitter because you scratched on the last turn.” Baekhyun responded.

“No, you’re just bitter because I have one less ball up then you do!” Minseok smacked the base of the pool cue on the ground.

“That just proves I have more balls than you, you pussy!” Baekhyun grinned.

Yixing looked helplessly at the door at Junmyeon, who made eye contact with him, fear in his eyes. Yixing crept over and sat next to Junmyeon.

“How are they all grown adults?” Yixing whispered.

“I don’t know, but I’m scared.” Junmyeon responded.

Once the group cooled down, mostly due to Kyungsoo’s menacing look scaring Chanyeol and Baekhyun outsmarting Minseok, Hiroshi walked in.

“If I took a shot for how many times I heard the word ‘balls’ upstairs, I would have alcohol poisoning.” Hiroshi laughed and took a seat in the burgundy loveseat.

“Where is Sehun?” Jongdae asked.

“Oh, that cut on his face is pretty nasty. I had to sew it up and Zitao helped me put some alcohol on it. I think they’re somewhere in the lobby talking. They’re hitting it off pretty well.”

“Makes sense, they’re both caring people,” Baekhyun said from the pool table, “The guy saved us, after all.”

Hiroshi nodded, “That they are. Zitao even complimented Sehun. Can you believe that?”

“The only person Zitao compliments is Zitao.” Junmyeon chucked.

“True, but can you blame him?” Junmyeon said.

“Wasn’t he a model in China?” Jongin asked.

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, I’ve seen some of his stuff.”

Lu Han got up, “I’m going to go find them to see if they want to join in.” He exited the room, hearing a snarky comment on his way out.

Lu Han saw the two in the lobby of the hotel. Sehun noticed him and smiled as he approached.

“Hey, Lu. What’s up?” Sehun said.

“We were wondering where you guys were. We’re playing some games and stuff.” Lu Han stated, standing in front of them.

“Oh, cool. Sounds like fun. You in, Tao?” Sehun asked, standing up. He lent out a hand to help Zitao up.

“Sure, sounds good.” Zitao grinned and got up. Sehun began walking to the ballroom, followed by Lu Han and Zitao. Lu Han felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Zitao looking expectantly at him.

“You like him, don’t you?” Zitao asked.

Lu Han furrowed his brow at Zitao, “What do you mean? What makes you think I’m gay?”

Zitao laughed, “I’m just asking. And considering that pretty much all of South Korea was destroyed, you’re not going to be judged even if you are.”

“Who says I care what other people think?” Lu Han asked in a defensive tone.

“Just a simple question. So, you don’t like him?” Zitao prodded, “Because, the way I see you interact with him or glare when other people talking to him makes it seem like you do.”

Lu Han rolled his eyes, “I don’t look at him like I like him.”

“So you don’t like him then, which means he’s up for grabs.” Zitao questioned, smirking slightly.

Lu Had stopped to look at Zitao, “What? You like him?”

Zitao shrugged, “He’s hot and he’s nice. What’s not to like?”

Lu Han clicked his tongue, “Yeah, I know. Look, I don’t know how to explain it, but, fuck. I guess I do.”

Zitao laughed, “That was your first time admitting it, wasn’t it? To be honest, I wasn’t lying when I said he’s hot. I’d go for him if I didn’t have my eyes on someone who is completely oblivious. I just wanted to hear you say it.” He winked.

“You fucker!” Lu Han put Zitao in a headlock.

Sehun turned around when he heard Lu Han’s outburst, “Uh, are you guys okay?”

Zitao and Lu Han looked up, eyes wide. Lu Han let go of Zitao and Zitao fixed his hair.

“Just having some fun,” Lu Han uncomfortably chucked, “No big deal.”

Sehun frowned but turned forward to walk into the ballroom.

…

“Okay, the game is getting boring. Time for drinks.” Minseok put away his pool cue and headed for the bar.

“Aw, is someone bitter he lost twice in a row?” Baekhyun playfully frowned and put his arm around Minseok’s shoulder.

“Get off of me.” Minseok lightly shook him off.

“You should be looking forward to your punishment, bud.” Baekhyun grinned. The group sat at the bar, sans Minseok, Yifan, and Hiroshi, who prepared drinks for the group.

Jongdae took a drink from the glass handed to him and made a face, “I think I’m going to die of alcohol poisoning.”

Minseok rolled his eyes and took a taste of his drink, “I made this one weak for you. Don’t be a baby.” He pinched Jongdae’s cheek and continued making a drink for Lu Han.

Once the group had a sufficient amount of alcohol in their system, Baekhyun grinned and pointed at Minseok, “Punishment time.”

Minseok quirked a brow as he took a drink from his glass. Baekhyun exited the room and came back with a shot glass filled with an ominous liquid.

“Please don’t tell me you pissed in that and expect me to drink it.” Minseok stated. Baekhyun placed it in front of Minseok and grinned.

“Nope.” Baekhyun sat back on the floor next to Chanyeol. The group had migrated back to the more comfortable seating, rather than the bar.

“At least tell me what’s in it. I’ll drink it regardless.” Minseok eyed the liquid.

Hiroshi took the glass and smelled the liquid, immediately pulling his head back.

“Jesus Christ, Baekhyun. That smells rancid.” Hiroshi buried his nose in the crook of his elbow.

“Fine, fine,” Baekhyun waved his hands, “There is fish sauce, wasabi, vinegar, gochujang paste, canned tuna water, and a few more things. I forgot the rest.”

Minseok took the glass and downed it, face remaining stoic. The twelve other faces looked at him in question.

“Did you just-“ Chanyeol started.

“How…” Hiroshi murmured.

“He’s not human, I’m convinced.” Yixing shrugged, taking a drink of his vodka.

“You know, you’re not the first person to say that,” Minseok said to Yixing and turned to Baekhyun, “Try harder next time, sweet cheeks.”

The group took a round of shots and got more comfortable.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, Kyungsoo, what’s one of the weirdest things that has happened to you on set?” Junmyeon asked.

Kyungsoo halted his conversation with Jongin and looked as if he was trying to recollect information.

“You know, I think the weirdest thing that happened was when I was filming with this Chinese actor. He was hilarious. We were filming a scene outside and I guess some fans managed to figure out we were filming. This guy and I are doing a pretty serious scene and we hear these girls calling us oppa and trying to run onto the set. My manager had to boot them. It doesn’t sound that weird I guess, but if you’re filming a scene talking about your dead parents and you have to be fake crying, it’s kind of frustrating to have to redo it ten times because girls are making some vulgar comments on the side. We also had one girl find her way into my dressing room. She was a sasaeng and she was pretty scary. When she and her friend found out I was filming with that actor, they leaked my home address and his dance studio address. They sent some of their hair to his dance studio.”

“Ew, what the fuck? That’s so gross and creepy.” Lu Han said.

“I know. Oh, I forgot to mention, one time at a fanmeet, this girl brought a marriage certificate and hid everything but the area she wanted me to sign in an envelope. I was suspicious, so I opened the envelope and saw that.” Kyungsoo lit a cigarette.

“Wait, who was the actor you were working with?” Junmyeon asked.

“Do you guys know Jackson Wang?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I was in a runway show with him.” Zitao added.

“I saw him in your movie for the first time. He seems like a cool guy.” Jongin said.

“He is. Very touchy, but a nice guy.” Kyungsoo laughed. Zitao nodded in agreement.

Yifan took a drink and looked at the group, “Speaking of people we knew in the past, do you ever wonder who is still alive out there? I mean, we have only heard that this happened in South Korea. Who knows if it has actually eradicated anywhere else?”

Chanyeol nodded, “I do. It’s weird to think about the fact that people we know could still be alive.”

“Especially for those who aren’t from Korea.” Hiroshi added.

“That’s what I think about too. I wonder if Canada is safe. Or China, for that matter.” Yifan sighed.

“I don’t know if we will ever be able to find out, unless Jaehyun says something.” Baekhyun bit the inside of his lip.

“Or my father. I know that they had plans for an infiltration into the United States, but we won’t be able to know when.” Junmyeon frowned.

“I guess I’m just trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope that my family is okay. It’s scary not knowing if they’re alive or not.” Zitao ran a hand through his hair.

Lu Han nodded but kept silent. Truthfully, he felt the same way. It hit a little too close to home, and he could feel hot tears forming in his eyes.

“Sehun and I tried to warn our families, but they wouldn’t listen. No one would.” Jongdae leaned back on the couch.

“My biggest fear is seeing someone I knew as a ghoul, or a Glowing One or something.” Baekhyun said. Chanyeol wrapped a comforting hand around the other and pulled him close.

Sehun eyed Baekhyun about to ask what a Glowing One was, but Minseok beat him to the punch, “What’s a Glowing One?”

“It’s something that the people in the vault were talking about. We didn’t believe them until we saw one wandering. They come from the Glowing Sea. They’re basically ghouls that have absorbed so much radiation that they literally glow.  They have much more power than a normal ghoul.” Baekhyun stated.

“I feel like there are so many creatures out there we don’t know about. Let’s say we do succeed and take down the SOA. Does that mean we have to wipe out all of those things too?” Yifan asked.

“Let’s not think that far into this just yet. If we make it into the government building, they may have some technology we don’t to help take down some of it. We need to focus on our strengths right now.”

“So, what other things are out there that you have seen?” Zitao asked.

Baekhyun began talking about something called a Deathclaw. Lu Han excused himself and walked out, wiping his eye as he left. Sehun watched him as he left, curiosity in his eyes.

He quietly followed Lu Han out to see him sitting on a chair in the lobby. Sehun silently crouched next to him.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sehun asked. Lu Han looked up and wiped his eyes, trying to brush off his feelings.

“Yeah, no, I’m good. Don’t worry. Let’s go back.” Lu Han began to get up, but Sehun pushed him back down.

“No, you’re not okay. You can talk about it, you know. I’m not going to judge you, Lu.” Sehun’s face was full of sincerity.

Lu Han sighed. He couldn’t say no—especially with the way Sehun was looking at him, “Okay. When I came here from China for my internship, the hardest person to leave was my sister. She’s my everything. She’s twelve. Anyway, my biggest worry is that something happened to her. Our parents worked all of the time, so we only had each other. I’m fifteen years older than her, but I pretty much raised her. When I got the internship, I wanted to take her with me. Our parents said that she couldn’t. I originally said no to the internship because I didn’t want to leave her, but she told me to go and come back when I was done. Now, I don’t know what or where she is. I’m just scared—terrified actualy.” Lu Han admitted. He hadn’t felt the tears sliding down his cheeks until Sehun wiped them.

“I can’t tell you that your family is safe, nor can I tell you that everything is going to be okay. What I can tell you though is that you have to fight for her. You have been fighting for her. We may not know these people all too well, but think of them as your family right now. Lu Han, you have been going through all of this and you still fight like a beast. I wish I was as brave as you.”

Lu Han gave a small smile, but Sehun could tell he was still hurting. Though Sehun wasn’t a fan of being touched, despite the touchiness of the residents in Exodus, he still pulled Lu Han into a hug.

“We’re going to make it, Lu. Let’s kick the SOA’s asses for making you this worried.” Sehun said, voice muffled in Lu Han’s hair.

“Thank you. I really mean it. For everything. I did nothing but treat you like shit, yet you didn’t kick me out that night, nor did you leave me when I was dying. How do you do it, Sehun?” Lu Han said, lips grazing Sehun’s neck as he spoke.

“How do I do what?”

“Still manage to treat others so well, despite what you have been through. I swear you could make anyone fall in love with you.” Lu Han responded.

Sehun pulled away slightly to look at Lu Han in confusion, “Anyone?”

“Yes, you dummy. It’s going to hit you one day what I mean, and I hope I’ll be around when it does.” Lu Han smiled at Sehun. Sehun was still crouching down next to Lu Han, albeit much closer, and Lu Han still had his arms around Sehun.

“I bet you think I’m an idiot. I have just learned to not bring people in and push away my feelings that it takes me a while. I may slowly be getting to know what you mean.” Sehun said, eyes still locked on Lu Han.

“Good. Or I can just spell it out for you if you would like. I think I-“

“SEHUN, LU HAN. WE’RE DOING SHOTS. GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE.” Minseok’s voice boomed from the ballroom. Lu Han immediately retracted his hands and Sehun stood up.

“Guess we’re about to get wasted.” Lu Han laughed.

“I hope they’re not touchy drunks.” Sehun responded.

They were, in fact, touchy drunks. Minseok and Lu Han began by competing to see who could take more shots. They looked like two boys in a frat with the way they were competing. Most of the group was slightly tipsy, aside from Jongdae, Sehun, Hiroshi, Yifan, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Junmyeon.

“Basically, we’re the babysitters.” Chanyeol said, holding Baekhyun up from trying to lie down on the floor.

“Yes, essentially. Let them enjoy it though. After tonight, we are going to have to train day and night to go against the SOA.” Junmyeon said, the official in him coming out.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. That Liberty Prime sounds intimidating.” Yifan stated.

“I think the sooner we get there, the better. I sincerely hope that this hasn’t happened elsewhere in the world.” Hiroshi frowned.

Jongdae took a shot Minseok had in his hand and placed it elsewhere, so he couldn’t reach.

“No more for you, mister. I don’t want you puking in the middle of the night.” Jongdae sat Minseok next to him, pulling his legs over his lap so he couldn’t move.

Lu Han sat in the circle where the group had formed on the ground  and leaned over to Jongdae.

“So when are you guys going to tell us that you’re a thing? Or are you not planning on telling us?” Lu Han elbowed Jongdae. Jongdae’s face reddened and he looked around the group. No one had heard except for him, Minseok, and Sehun.

“What are you talking about?” Jongdae forced laughter.

“Oh, please. Sehun is the most oblivious person here and I know he was thinking the same thing.” Lu Han said.

Jongdae looked expectantly at Sehun, who shrugged.

“If we were, can you really blame me?” Minseok said, putting a hand on the back of Jongdae’s neck, “Have you seen this face? When I first saw him, I thought a fucking angel came to rescue me. Instead, it was this cutie, sad eyebrows and all.”

Jongdae laughed, “Sad eyebrows? You drank too much.”

“No, he’ right. You do look permanently sad.” Lu Han nodded with Minseok.

Suddenly, Baekhyun jumped on Sehun’s back, “Sehun, take a shot with me!”

Chanyeol shot up to pull the smaller off of Sehun, “Sorry, he’s naturally very touchy, but worse when he’s drunk.”

“It’s alright. I can tell he’s in good hands.” Sehun smiled to Chanyeol.

Baekhyun frowned in defeat and ran toward Yixing and Zitao, asking to do a shot while Chanyeol was running after him.

“That kid is a lot to handle. Chanyeol has his plate full.” Hiroshi said, watching Baekhyun’s antics.

“And, strangely enough, he is fully equipped to use one of the most powerful weapons created. What a concept.” Junmyeon responded.

Kyungsoo walked over from the pool table and sat with them.

“You actually managed to not have Jongin attached to your hip? Congratulations.” Minseok said, taking a drink of his beer after.

Kyungsoo laughed, “I don’t mind him. I don’t know how that man is an adult, but I don’t mind the possessiveness.”

“You know,” Lu Han asked, disregarding Kyungsoo’s statement, “Are you good with a gun? I know you’ve been in action movies, but how about real life?”

“My father was in the army. He taught me how to shoot a gun before I could drive a car. I also took martial arts growing up and I’m a black belt.” Kyungsoo plainly said.

“Oh, oh damn. I underestimated you, Do Kyungsoo.” Lu Han replied.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Kyungsoo grinned.

…

The group retired late into the night. Lu Han was carried back to the room, as was Minseok. Their competitive personalities and alcohol did not mix well. Jongdae and Sehun said goodnight to each other and went into their rooms. Sehun placed Lu Han on his bed and covered him with a sheet. Sehun then showered and came back to the room. Lu Han was still awake, the illumination of the bedside lamp shining on his face. Sehun made his way for his own bed when he heard Lu Han.

“Sehun, can you lay with me?” Lu Han asked.

“Sure, but are you okay?” Sehun asked.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking too much. We are sitting safely in here…for now. There’s so much danger out there. Power Armor, Deathclaws, Synths, the list goes on. What if a synth comes and knocks on the door? What if it gets let in and kills us all? You know that they say war never changes. What if we take down the SOA and nothing changes?” Lu Han babbled.

“You are thinking too much,” Sehun crawled into Lu Han’s bed, “The unknown is scary, but things won’t remain this way if we succeed. Don’t worry.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Lu Han sighed and pulled the covers up to under his neck, “Worrying is just going to give me wrinkles and gray hair.”

Sehun burst out laughing, “So that’s what you’re worried about. Go to sleep, Lu.” Sehun ruffled his hair and closed his eyes.

Sehun fell asleep rather quickly, but Lu Han had trouble. He felt comfort having Sehun next to him, but he didn’t know for how much longer. Not only could he lose his family, but he could also lose everyone at Exodus and Sehun sooner than later. It was a risk they were willing to take, but it was also worrisome. Though he had not known most of Exodus for long and he had previously butt heads with some of them, he still felt like he was close to the group. They had welcomed him with open arms and offered him a home in such a time of need.

Lu Han watched Sehun sleep, Sehun’s brow occasionally furrowing in his dreams. Lu Han couldn’t lose him like he had lost so much. They all lost everything, so maybe that’s why they held onto each other so closely, despite the short time knowing one another. His thoughts always wandered back to Sehun. He wanted to know more about him; his passions and life before the apocalypse was pretty much unknown to Sehun. Lu Han didn’t know if it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly, but he was beginning to feel that it was.

…

As Junmyeon and Hiroshi had told them, Exodus trained day and night. The training had everyone in different places at different times, minus the time they spent eating together. Everyone was exhausted, but they knew the strenuous activities were crucial for going against the SOA. Three weeks flew by of continuous training when Jaehyun made another announcement on the news. This time, all thirteen members of Exodus were able to watch. They sat at the meeting table and Hiroshi turned on the television.

“Good afternoon, survivors. Congratulations if you are still alive! I am more than happy to announce that the smaller cities have been completely eradicated. Few remain, but they will be wiped out as soon as possible. The SOA is also proud to say that we have gained ten more members of the SOA through our kind convincing,” Jaehyun’s demonic grin flashed on the screen, “The biggest news we have is that Liberty Prime will be active sooner than we expected! By next Thursday, Liberty Prime will be on the streets and cleansing our streets. As of now, I bid you farewell.”

The screen blacked out.

“Next Thursday….we only have eight days to train. Seven if we want to be there the day before their infiltration.” Yixing said.

“We can do it,” Hiroshi said confidently, “With the progress that Baekhyun, Yifan, and Chanyeol have made with me on my Power Armor and weapons, I believe in us.”

“I do too. You guys have all been working so hard. You can see it just by looking at you. Think about this, aside from Jaehyun and my father, there are twenty members of the SOA. Ten of those members are survivors of the apocalypse that went in desperation. They’re going to be weak.” Junmyeon said.

“That’s true. When we first started out, Sehun and I encountered two members of the SOA. They weren’t hard to kill, either. Sehun took one down with a couple of blows from his baseball bat.” Jongdae responded.

“And, we have some of the best shooters here. We also have a Wushu expert and a black belt.” Hiroshi added.

“Have some confidence in yourselves,” Junmyeon started, “Lu Han, Jongin, Sehun, Jongdae, and Minseok also have an upper hand. They have all had hands-on experience with the outside. We are already risking our lives, so we just need to work out hardest and whatever happens, happens.”

“I also think that Power Armor Hiroshi created is far more structurally advanced than what we saw. It was incredible. Your Mr. Handy is nice too, even though he looks like a chrome octopus, minus four legs.” Jongin joked.

“He may indeed, but he can sure as hell kill.” Hiroshi said, a twinkle in his eyes. 

“These days coming up are going to be crucial. We are going to be training through the night for the next, five days probably. The last two days will be strategizing and resting up for the big day.” Junmyeon said.

“Everyone should now get back to training. Good luck everyone and fighting!” Hiroshi said.

The group exited and went to their respective training locations. Jongdae, Sehun, Lu Han, Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol were practicing shooting that day. Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been teaching them proper shooting techniques. Though Hiroshi had weapons for everyone, he was intrigued by the ammo that Jun had given Jongdae and Sehun. Upon further research, he concluded that it was indeed special. It had been created with compressed gunpowder, giving it a lightweight feel. He also analyzed the contents of the gunpowder and noted that it contained traces of a rare poison that came from a wild spider called a Frostbite spider. Hiroshi wasn’t with the duo during the time they were able to take down actual enemies, but he concluded that they had managed to kill some of their enemies with ease, due to said ammo. The Yao Guai was killed rather quickly from the story that Hiroshi was told, which would be nearly impossible without the help of special ammunition. Hiroshi had done research in the past on the Frostbite spider’s venom. Similarly, to its name, the venom from the spider has poison in it that gelatinizes the blood in the bloodstream, essentially freezing the blood in it’s place. Without a proper flow, the body slows down, giving the shooter the ability to take down a weakened enemy. Jun had given Jongdae and Sehun an abundance of ammo, so they were able to give some to the members of Exodus that used guns that took the proper ammo. Aside from them, only Kyungsoo, Yifan, and Yixing used guns that worked with the ammo. Zitao’s strong suit was similar to Sehun’s with two-handed weapons. He used an item called the Ripper, which was a short-bladed chainsaw used in the Korean War. Lu Han’s specialty was with explosives, Jongin used a missile launcher, Baekhyun and Chanyeol used their specialized weapons, Minseok used a shotgun, Junmyeon would control the Power Armor, and Hiroshi used an item he created called the Power Fist.

…

“I feel like I have nothing else to teach you guys. You’re amazing.” Chanyeol looked at the group with his hands on his hips. It was eleven at night four days before the plan. Today was shooting practice for all thirteen members of Exodus.

“Just make sure you stock up on ammo. Tomorrow is the last day to train, and that’s going to be in the basement with Yifan and Jongdae, so you won’t be needing your weapons.” Baekhyun nodded to the group.

“Yes, as Baekhyun said, we will meet at six tomorrow. That gives you some time to rest, since I know none of you were able to yesterday. After tomorrow, we will be in meetings and I will be giving you protection and uniforms. Make sure to ready yourselves.” Hiroshi sat up, exhaustion playing on his face. The stress of going to the SOA was stressful for everyone, but especially Hiroshi. He had devoted years of his time to Exodus. Each member knew that they wouldn’t be able to take down the government if it wasn’t for Hiroshi. Their undeniable respect for Hiroshi and Junmyeon was no secret.

The groups retired to their rooms. Jongdae stopped Sehun on their way over.

“Hey, Hunnie, do you want to stay in our room tonight with Lu Han?” Jongdae asked.

“Sure, Dae. I’ll ask Lu Han.” Sehun clasped a hand on the older’s shoulder.

“I guess I just want to spend as much time with you as possible before we go to the SOA. I don’t know what’s going to happen, you know?” Jongdae frowned.

“I know, I’ve been thinking a lot about it too. I can’t get it out of my mind.” Sehun let out a shaky breath.

“We’re going to be okay.” Jongdae enveloped Sehun into a hug. Sehun pulled back and smiled at his best friend.

“Gross.” Minseok muttered from behind them and chuckled.

“Oh, shut up, you.” Jongdae fell back to wrap his arms around Minseok.

“Now, that’s actually gross.” Lu Han fake puked, quickening his pace to Sehun.

“Oh, Jongdae asked if we want to stay in their room tonight. You up for it?” Sehun asked.

“Yeah, sure. I just need to get some stuff from our room,” Lu Han said, “And shower.”

“Me too, I’ll go after you.” Sehun replied.

Lu Han went into his and Sehun’s room and Sehun waited with Minseok and Jongdae.

Jongdae turned on his radio and listened with Sehun while Minseok and Lu Han were showering. Suddenly, a loud beeping came from Jongdae and Sehun’s L-1485’s. It could also be heard faintly coming from another room.

“Emergency broadcast, please listen to the following announcement,” A woman’s voice in Mandarin said from the radio, “This just in, bombs were seen falling from a blimp in Northern China and in Hokkaido region of Japan. I repeat, bombs have fallen in China and Japan.”

Jongdae and Sehun looked at each other. Jongdae was fluent in Mandarin and Sehun had a basic grasp at it, so they understood perfectly. A loud crash was heard from the L-1485’s radio. The woman’s voice sounded warier at the next part.

“Now we are hearing that bombs have been dropped in Washington D.C. American officials are broadcasting to us live right now. We are hearing that there is a threat of a nuclear missile being sent to the United States as we speak. If you have any bunkers near you, we advise going to them as soon as possible. If you are in China, Japan, or the United States, you could be in danger right now. Please be safe. It is possible that more bombs are being dropped in the US.”

The radio cut out.

Jongdae shot up and ran toward Hiroshi’s room. Sehun headed for the bathroom to find Lu Han. He threw the door open and saw Lu Han pulling on a shirt.

“Knock much?” Lu Han said.

“I’m sorry, there’s an emergency.” Sehun pulled Lu Han out of the bathroom and into the main room.

“What is it?” Lu Han asked, now worried.

“The SOA has bombed parts of China, Japan, and the United States.” Sehun cautiously said.

Lu Han’s face became pale and he swallowed thickly, “Where in China?”

“Northern China. You said you were from Beijing, didn’t you?”

“That’s where my family is.” Lu Han nearly collapsed to the ground and Sehun had to keep him up.

“I’m so sorry, Lu Han.” Sehun held on tightly to Lu Han.

Hiroshi, Yixing, Jongdae, Zitao, Minseok, and Yifan came into the room. The Chinese members of Exodus were silently comforting each other. Sehun kept Lu Han close, pain evident on his face.

“We still don’t know which cities were bombed, there is still hope.” Yixing put his face in his hands.

Lu Han knew Yixing was still holding onto the hope that their home was safe, but there was no use. Beijing would be the first place that would be attacked, due to it’s capacity. Lu Han couldn’t think straight. He was filled with a mixture of rage and sadness. He knew that everyone else had lost their loved ones, but Lu Han held onto the idea that China would be safe for so long. He was lost and confused. All he had left was the family he created in Exodus.

“I’m going to try and sleep. I can’t think right now.” Zitao wiped the corner of his eyes. Yifan nodded and sat up with Zitao, putting a comforting arm around his waist. Hiroshi and Yixing left not soon after too, Hiroshi’s efforts of comforting Yixing went to no use.

“I’m going to walk him back to his and Junmyeon’s room.” Hiroshi said, Yixing’s face was nestled in Hiroshi’s chest, tears wetting his gray shirt.

Sehun nodded and closed the door after them. Minseok and Jongdae went to sit in the bedroom while Lu Han talked to Sehun.

“I don’t know what to do anymore.” Lu Han said, voice practically a whisper.

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now. I wish there was something I could say.” Sehun frowned. They were now sat on the couch and Sehun had Lu Han’s head in his lap, running a hand through his hair.

“I can’t believe this fucking world we live in now. Everything has gone to shit. I’m going to fucking kill Jaehyun with my bare hands if I have to.”

“He deserves it. He brought his own tirade into other counties. He can’t rule the whole world, I hope he knows,” Sehun sighed, “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through.”

Lu Han felt bad. Sehun had been through the same thing, as did everyone else. Sehun lost people he loved too.

“I’m the one that’s sorry. I’m hung up on this and you have already gone through all of it.” Lu Han choked back a sob.

“Hey,” Sehun lifted Lu Han’s head up to look at him, “Don’t. Don’t think that you aren’t allowed to be upset, okay? You absolutely are, you hear me?”

Lu Han nodded, “I hear you. I just want to go to sleep and try to forget all of this. Maybe I can wake up from this nightmare.”

Sehun sat up, bringing Lu Han with him. Minseok and Jongdae were laying in one bed, the other bed that looked as if it was never slept in on their right-hand side. Jongdae offered Sehun a sad smile when he entered with Lu Han. Sehun pulled back the sheets and helped Lu Han lay down, covering him afterwards.

Sehun and Lu Han laid together in silence, long after Jongdae and Minseok had slept. Lu Han was quietly sniffling. Sehun felt for Lu Han’s hand under the blankets and held it.

“Sehun.” Lu Han whispered.

Sehun turned in Lu Han’s direction, trying to see his face in the darkness.

“Yeah?” Sehun whispered back.

“Promise me,” Lu Han started, “Promise me that we will make it out of this together.” He squeezed Sehun’s hand tighter.

Sehun turned on his side, Lu Han’s hand still in his. He used his other hand to graze Lu Han’s cheek, “I promise.”

Sehun felt Lu Han smile, “You won’t leave me, will you?”

“I would never.” Sehun assured Lu Han.

“One more thing.” Lu Han whispered.

“What is it, Lu?” Sehun asked.

“I think I love you.” Lu Han whispered.

“I think I might love you too.” Sehun responded. Internally, he didn’t think he loved Lu Han, he knew. He knew from the moment they met that his world turned around completely when he met Lu Han. He used to have a hard time with affection, and now he craved it from the blonde. The Chinese boy was captivating to him, and little did Sehun know, Lu Han felt the same way. The only thing that Sehun could do was pull Lu Han closer and place the faintest kiss on the corner of Lu Han’s mouth. They fell asleep like that, Lu Han cradled in Sehun’s chest and Sehun smiling into Lu Han’s hair.

Breakfast was quiet the next morning. The rest of Exodus was filled in on the news. Kyungsoo made sure to make pancakes for the group, something that Yifan said he missed from studying in America.

Yixing raised his cup of coffee and looked at the table, “I just wanted to say something to everyone. Thank you for being my family. What happened last night was horrible and we have all been through so much loss. I think the reason why we are all managing right now is because of each other. We don’t know what our future holds, but I just want to let you all know that I am grateful for you.”

The group raised their cups to Yixing as well. They did a cheers and the mood was slightly lifted. The quiet room was now filled with laughter and the clanking of silverware.

Sehun watched Lu Han as he smiled while in a conversation with Kyungsoo. It made Sehun feel relieved to see him looking happier. They hadn’t talked about last night, nor did they have the time to do so. As soon as they were finished with breakfast, half of the group practiced Wushu, while the others practiced defense with Yifan. Halfway through the day, they switched up. The morning became the night in the blink of an eye. Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Minseok left to go bring sandwiches Kyungsoo prepared in the morning to the basement.

“Lu Han, how are you feeling?” Jongdae asked as he sat next to the older.

“Better. Thank you. You best friend has been a big help.” Lu Han looked at Jongdae.

Jongdae smiled brightly, “He is really good at comforting people. That’s why I keep him around,” Jongdae bumped into Lu Han’s shoulder playfully, “All jokes aside, he’s amazing. He looks at you so fondly. I saw him eyeing you earlier when you were talking to Kyungsoo.”

“Yeah?” Lu Han questioned, “Well, I’m very fond of him too.”

“I’m happy to hear that. You know, I was scared of starting a relationship before infiltrating the SOA, but if I die, at least I die knowing someone cares about me.” Jongdae said.

“Sehun and I aren’t in a relationship,” Lu Han looked at Jongdae quizzically.

“I figured that. I’m just giving some grade A advice.” Jongdae winked and Lu Han laughed.

“You’re so annoying.” Lu Han smirked at Jongdae.

The three came back with sandwiches and handed them out.

“What time should we meet tomorrow?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I want everyone to start to get a good night’s rest, so I would say around noon. Meet in the lobby of the hotel, so I can take you in and we can get Mr. Handy and the Power Armor geared up.” Hiroshi said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“So, this is it. I hope everyone feels ready,” Zitao crossed his legs.

“As ready as I can be,” Jongin said, “But I’m also ready for like a solid ten hours of sleep.”

“I get that,” Baekhyun stretched his arms above his head, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this fit in my whole life.”

Minseok chucked and pulled out a cigarette from his ear, “No shit. I never want to do Wushu again if I don’t die. No offense, Zitao.”

Zitao waved his hand, “None taken.”

“Alright, well, I have a few more finishing pieces to put onto my work. Baekhyun and Yifan, care to help?” Hiroshi sat up, as did Yifan and Baekhyun.

“Night, guys! See you in the morning.” Baekhyun waved at the group and followed Hiroshi up the stairs.

The rest of the group went up the stairs not long after, minus Lu Han, Sehun, Minseok, and Jongdae. They opted for talking for a few more hours and having a couple of drinks before they went to bed.

Jongdae and Sehun watched Lu Han and Minseok take a shot together, holding the bottle back when they tried to go for another.

“No more, just one shot. We can’t mess around with alcohol when we have a big day not far ahead of us.” Jongdae waved a finger at Minseok.

Minseok rolled his eyes, “I hate when you’re right.”

Jongdae smiled in success and put the bottle back on the wall.

“What’s the first thing you guys want to do when we take down the SOA, hypothetically speaking.” Lu Han asked.

“Probably get rid of all of the radiated creatures and stuff wandering around South Korea so we can go outside without risking our lives.” Jongdae said.

Lu Han pointed a finger at him, “Smart.”

“I want to get that synth guy to join in on the new world. He knows his shit.” Minseok said.

“He would definitely be beneficial,” Sehun started, “I want to bring Jun back, so he and Hiroshi can be our leaders. Aside from Junmyeon, of course.”

“Could you imagine? Jun as the new leader of South Korea?” Jongdae smiled, “I can get behind that.”

The four continued chatting, until exhaustion took over. They went to their respective rooms after saying goodnight. Sehun got ready for bed and threw himself onto the sheets. Lu Han lifted his arm and laid down next to him.

“Move, you’re taking up so much space.” Lu Han frowned.

Sehun lifted his head up from the pillow and grinned at Lu Han, “Yeah, space on my bed. Who said you could sleep here?”

Lu Han lightly punched him and began to get up, only to be pulled down by the wrist, “I’m joking. Stay here.” Sehun said.

Lu Han accepted Sehun’s offer and coiled into him, balling his shirt in his fists, “Okay, you convinced me.”

“It didn’t take much effort, now did it?” Sehun laughed.

“No, it didn’t,” Lu Han started, “I talked to Jongdae earlier.”

“Really, about what?” Sehun asked.

“Relationships. He said that he was hesitant to start a relationship before a situation where he could die, but he’s happy he did. He said that, even if he dies, he will know what he had someone who cared for him.” Lu Han said.

Sehun hummed, “I guess it does make sense, knowing someone will care for you when you’re gone.”

“But, you’re not going anywhere, right? I won’t have to worry.” Lu Han pecked Sehun’s jawline.

“I won’t leave you and you won’t leave me,” Sehun admitted , “When you asked earlier what I would do if we beat the SOA, I lied saying the first thing I would do was find Jun. The first thing I would do would be kiss you.”

“You can just do that now, can’t you?” Lu Han grinned.

“I can, but I’m hoping that if we survive, I’ll have the rest of my life to kiss you too.” Sehun smiled at Lu Han.

Lu Han leaned in and gently kissed Sehun, “I’d like that.”

“Me too.”

…

Just as they were told, Exodus went to Hiroshi’s room around noon. Hiroshi introduced them to the complete Power Armor, adorned with his own Exodus design on the chest. He showed them Mr. Handy and the few other creations he made. Hiroshi was extremely proud of his creations, as he should have been. He handed out bulletproof vests to each member of Exodus and a uniform. The uniforms looked like a jumpsuit and was navy blue. Crimson lines ran down the side of each leg, and the same color was on an embellishment on the sleeve. The same symbol that was on the Power Armor was on the sleeve. Each member also got a pair of goggles that they could wear, in case tear gas, or some other hazardous objects, were thrown at them. Each upper part of the jumpsuit was different, all having a variation of the crimson on it somewhere. Hiroshi did the final hand-down of the weapons, giving the members that used the weapons he created theirs. He also handed each person a small black bag, similar to the ones soldiers used during combat, filled with ammo, medicine, and basic necessities.

“So, we are going to speed things up a bit. Junmyeon and I were talking, and I think we should head over tomorrow in the middle of the night. I think around 11 at night sounds good. What does everyone think?” Hiroshi asked.

“That’s a smart move. A lot of the wild creatures cannot see well at night.” Minseok nodded in approval.

“Alright. Tomorrow night is it. We’re going to go over all of the information we have so far again tomorrow, and then we will be on our way,” Junmyeon eyed each member, “Sehun and Jongdae, would you care to go over the information you have collected in your L-1485’s tomorrow?”

“Of course. Sehun should also go over his notes that he brought.” Jongdae responded.

“I’ll bring them,” Sehun said, “Tomorrow it is.”

…

The next day, Exodus piled into the meeting room, the room thick with nervousness.

“Alright, everyone. We have about seven hours until we leave. Does anyone have anymore questions before I let Sehun and Jongdae take over?” Hiroshi asked.

“How far is the SOA from here?” Kyungsoo asked.

“It’s about twelve miles.” Hiroshi answered.

“We have to walk twelve miles? How is Junmyeon going to do that in Power Armor?” Zitao asked.

“Oh, we aren’t walking. Don’t worry. ROV motorized vehicles may or may not be in the game plan.” Hiroshi grinned.

“Where did you get them?” Yifan asked.

“They have been here since this place was created. You all have probably never seen the back of the hotel, but just behind the building is a small garage. There are about four motorized vehicles. There’s a back part on it for Junmyeon to sit in with the Power Armor.” Hiroshi stated.

The entirety of Exodus Hotels was gated and the garage was within the gated area, similarly to the garden that Kyungsoo frequented.

“That’s good. I think we would stick out like a sore thumb if we were to be walking out there loudly lugging weapons.” Jongin laughed.

“The best part about the vehicles is that they’re pretty silent and there aren’t any reflective parts on them,” Hiroshi said, “If that’s everything, I’ll let Sehun and Jongdae take it away.”

Sehun pulled out his notes and Jongdae opened up the notes on his L-1485. They spent the next hours sharing all of the information they had, especially their experience with Power Armor. Jongin shared his encounter with the RF-05, in case there were any in the government building.

“Lastly, and I know we have said this over and over again, aim for the keypad. As we saw on Hiroshi’s Power Armor, the keypad is secure. Theirs isn’t like that—not even on the more advanced Power Armor.” Jongin finished.

Hiroshi stood back up and asked if anyone else had more questions. Kyungsoo and Jongin creeped out of the room as he did so, and returned with a cake. They placed it in front of Hiroshi and Junmyeon.

“What’s this for?” Hiroshi asked.

“For everything. None of us would be alive if it wasn’t for Exodus Hotels. We wouldn’t know half of what we do if it wasn’t for you and Junmyeon.” Kyungsoo smiled.

Junmyeon and Hiroshi looked at each other teary eyed.

“Thank you everyone, really. It has been an honor getting to know you and I hope that we can meet again after tonight.” Hiroshi wiped his eyes.

The two of them blew out the candle on the cake. The cake was frosted with a baby blue icing and ‘we are one’ was written on the top of it.

“If it looks sloppy, I had Jongin help me with it. Don’t blame me.” Kyungsoo laughed.

“Hey, I did a good job!” Jongin huffed.

“You did, yeah, yeah. Now cut the cake. It looks damn good.” Minseok said.

The group enjoyed the cake and left to go change. One by one, they made their way into the lobby. Most of Exodus was wearing sweatshirts underneath their jumpsuits, with the exception of Jongin, who was wearing a partially mesh shirt. Everyone had their goggles on them, some around their neck and the others with them on their foreheads. Jongin, Minseok, and Chanyeol were wearing sweatbands on their foreheads, Minseok was wearing a beret, and Kyungsoo was wearing a black baseball cap with his goggles on top.

“Everyone have their bulletproof vests on?” Hiroshi asked, adjusting his goggles on his forehead.

“Yep, all ready.” Jongin grinned.

“Great. Let’s get everything into the vehicles. While we do that, Junmyeon is going to get the Power Armor on.” Hiroshi said.

The group loaded up their weapons, Mr. Handy, and the rest of Hiroshi’s creations into the vehicles. When completed, Yixing opened up the garage door and Junmyeon walked in with the Power Armor on.

“You look so badass.” Lu Han said in awe.

“That thing looks indestructible.” Jongin said.

“Let’s hope it is.” Junmyeon’s voice, altered by the voice box, said.

Junmyeon sat in the back of the vehicle Hiroshi was going to drive with Yixing. Jongdae, Jongin, and Sehun went into the second one. Lu Han, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun went into the third, and Chanyeol, Yifan, Zitao, and Minseok went into the fourth. Before Yixing sat in the vehicle, he opened up the back gates of the settlement for them to exit. They drove the vehicles out, and Yixing closed the gates behind them.

“Let’s hope we will see you again, Exodus Hotels.” Yixing waved to the hotel.

Nervous butterflies were in everyone’s chests as they drove closer to the government building.

“This is it, I’m so nervous.” Chanyeol said to Zitao.

“Me too, I feel like I could puke.” Zitao confirmed.

“Just breathe.” Yifan said in a, not so convincing, tone.

Lu Han looked to the car Sehun was in to see Sehun looking back at him. They smiled at each other and continued on.

The SOA building came into view. It was large and had a concrete fence with barbed wire on the top. They went to the back enterance where they didn’t see a guard and quietly exited the vehicles.

They approached the gate to find a keypad. Sehun and Jongdae went up to the keypad, and positioned their L-1485’s to hack the terminal. Baekhyun followed them and looked at the black screen with green writing on it.

“The code is 13012CBX.” Baekhyun said.

“How did you know that?” Jongdae asked, the L-1485 confirming Baekhyun’s code.

“I’ve been in the world of hacking before.” Baekhyun input the code and the gate opened.

They backed up and let the doors open. The security cameras outside surely alterted the guards inside that they made it.

“This is it.” Hiroshi said.

“Good luck.” Junmyeon bowed to the group. Everyone bowed quickly and began to enter from outside of the gates.

Sehun grabbed Lu Han’s arm, “Be safe. I expect to see you on the other side.”

“You too, kid.” Lu Had said, smiling to Sehun.

As soon as they made it through the gates, an alarm began to blare, alerting everyone of their presence. The six turrets that were outside of the building began shooting out lasers at the group. Thanks to Zitao’s Wushu skills, the group was able to avoid most of the shots. Sehun smashed the furthest turret with his baseball bat. Baekhyun and Chanyeol took out two each with their weapons, and Junmyeon used his Power Armor to take out the closest ones. Hiroshi used the Power Fist on his hand to break the glass window of the building. He booted up Mr. Handy and the robotic creature entered, using the saws on it’s body to amputate an SOA agent that came racing towards them. A turret on the ceiling of the building went off, sending a shot into Jongin’s chest. He fell back, but was quickly back on his feet, shooting back at the turret. SOA agents began to swarm them, as did a Sentry bot and Assaultron. The Sentry bot launched for Kyungsoo, sending punches into his body. The Assaultron slickly avoided each of Chanyeol’s shots and used its facial laser to slice through his jumpsuit and skin. Baekhyun ran toward two SOA agents, keeping enough distance to send a mini nuke into them. The explosion from the Fat Man went off, sending body parts from the two agents flying. Out of the smoke, two sets of Power Armor appeared and shot at Baekhyun. Zitao pushed Baekhyun out of the way and began to attack the Power Armor. Junmyeon started up the laser on it. Yifan started up the stairs with Hiroshi and Minseok, while Jongdae held back the SOA agent that grabbed Yifan’s leg. Jongdae used the butt of his gun to stun the agent and proceeded to shoot him in the head.  

“Oh shit, a Glowing One!” Baekhyun yelled as he sent a mini nuke into a Synth Edradicator, the synth not backing down with the powerful shot.

Lu Han looked at the green-hued ghoul barreling down the stairs. He threw an explosive at the Glowing One. The explosion blew off one of it’s arms, but it did not hesitate. It began running faster. Lu Han pulled out his pistol and used ammo from Jun to shoot at the ghoul. Since it did not have blood, it did not stop it either.

“Catch!” Sehun said as he threw his baseball bat to Lu Han. Sehun was then tackled by an agent and tried to take his pistol from his waistband.

Lu Han used the baseball bat to smash in the ghoul’s head, radiation and blood emitting from the ghoul, emitting an unforgettable smell. Three more hits and the ghoul was down. Lu Han brought the bat over the agent’s head, sending a combination of brain matter and blood onto the walls. The agent crumbled and Sehun got up, retrieveing his bat.

Once the first floor was wiped out, the rest of the group joinged Yifan, Hiroshi, and Minseok on the second floor. Junmyeon went up first, activating the laser on the Power Armor at the agents making their way toward the stairs. A few bodies were already on the ground from the three already upstairs. As they turned the corner, another Assaultron rounded it at the same time and crashed into Zitao. The Assaultron activated it’s laser and tore open Zitao’s flesh.

Chanyeol took his Atom’s Judgement and sent a fusion core into the Assaultron. The Assaultron’ legs blew up, but is still used it’s upper body to race toward the group. Hiroshi came around the corner and used his Power Fist to smash in the laser on it’s head. He grabbed Zitao off the ground and they began running.

“In here. Jaehyun’s in here.” Minseok pointed at the door. His clothing was drenched in blood, undetectable if it was his or not. Junmyeon started up the laser on the Power Armor again and aimed it at the lock on the door. Lu Han, Sehun, Jongdae, Chanyeol, Jongin, and Kyungsoo went past them to where there was another Sentry bot approaching. Lu Han threw an explosive at it, while Kyungsoo shot at the face. Lu Han and Seun shot at the body. The heavy robotic machinery knocked into Kyungsoo. It rolled over Kyungsoo’s arm, earning a scream from Kyungsoo. Jongin heard and ran in, assisting in shooting the Sentry bot. A synth eradicator appeared behind the Sentry bot and barreled past the Sentry bot to stab Chanyeol in the shoulder, near the neck. Chanyeol fell back, blood gushing from his neck. He held onto his neck and kicked Atom’s Judgement to Lu Han.

“Use it!” Chanyeol yelled. Lu Han nodded and picked up the heavy gun. He shot a fusion core at the Synth. When the Synth pushed Kyungsoo into the wall with a choke hold on his neck, Lu Han used his body force to ram into the Synth. The Synth dropped Kyungsoo and looked at Lu Han. Lu Han used the part of Atom’s Judgement that contained the sledgehammer to decapitate the robotic person. The head flew up into the air and landed at his feet. Jongin and Sehun shot at the Sentry bot.

“Back up!” Baekhyun yelled from behind them. The group ran out of the way so Baekhyun could use a mini nuke on the Sentry bot. Lu Han threw an explosive at the Sentry bot after the mini nuke went off. After the second explosion, all that remained of the Sentry bot were severed wires and broken mechanical pieces.

“I think I hear some more SOA agents coming from downstairs. Yifan, Jongin, Sehun, Minseok, and Baekhyun, go take care of them.” Hiroshi said as he repeatedly hit the iron door with his Power Fist.

They listened and ran down the stairs, only to be greeted by eight SOA agents and an RF-05. The RF-05 immediately used it’s claw-like arm to grab Minseok. Minseok shot at the body of the RF-05.

“I can’t shoot it with my Fat Man. That would kill Minseok.” Baekhyun said to the group.

“Let’s take out the agents and then try to sever the RF-05’s arm.” Sehun said.

They nodded and Yifan pulled a dagger out from his pocket and skillfully made his way to one agent. He plunged the dagger into the agent’s trachea and pulled the gas mask off of the agent.

“Not so powerful now when you’re not hiding under a mask, huh?” Yifan said to the agent. The agent to the right of him shot Yifan in the arm. Yifan turned around and kicked the agent in the stomach. When Jongin ran by the RF-05, he shot at the head of it in hopes to weaken it. Minseok was trying to pull out of it’s grasp. The ‘arm’ of the RF-05 was digging into Minseok’s skin. Sehun went for an agent in the back. The agent was not fighting back, but instead backing up as if they were scared. Sehun pulled a dagger to their throat.

“Please don’t kill me, I only joined because I had to.” The agent cried.

Sehun faltered slightly and looked at the agent. He took off their gas mask to see a smirking face behind it. The agent used Sehun’s hesitation to their advantage and pulled out a dagger from the shieth on their side and stabbed Sehun three times. Two in the stomach and one in the leg. Sehun didn’t fall back, but instead sliced their throat with this dagger, moving out of the way from the blood spatter.

Sehun then took out his baseball bat and went at the RF-05, while Jongin, Baekhyun, and Yifan got the remaining agents.

Yifan accidentally stepped over a trip wire, which caused a firing of shots to go off from the ceiling. Most Yifan quickly shot at the location of the shots, but not after being shot twice and Baekhyun once. Jongin used the SOA agent he was killing as his shield. Baekhyun limped out of the way and shot at the last remaining agent.

“We need Atom’s Judgement to sever this arm!” Minseok yelled from the RF-05’s grasp. Sehun ran up the stairs to get Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol, we need you!” Sehun yelled. Chanyeol nodded and followed Sehun down the stairs. He used Atom’s Judgement to free Minseok. The group went back up the stairs to help open the door, now that the remaining enemies were in the locked room.

“There’s still an RF-05 down there. We can’t kill it.” Jongin said.

“Let me.” Junmyeon said. He went down the stairs. The group heard sounds of metal being destroyed and Junmyeon came back as if nothing happened.

“You killed it?” Minseok asked.

“Yeah, this Power Armor is more powerful than I thought.” Junmyeon said.

“Damn right it is.” Hiroshi said, beads of sweat on his brow from using the Power Fist on the door.

After a few more attempts, the lock broke off of the door. Hiroshi opened it and they were greeted with a long hallway. Exodus went down the hallway toward the room at the end. Suddenly, parts of the wall of the hallway lifted up. Out came SOA agents and a voice over the intercom.

“Well, well. Welcome, guests. I see you have made it this far,” Jaehyun’s voice echoed through the hallway. These are the last of my SOA agents, I’m sad to say. However, they aren’t your normal agents. These are the most advanced synths to be created. Look at their faces,” When the walls lifted, the group noticed they weren’t wearing the usual gasmasks. Instead, human faces stared back at them, “They look like normal people, no? I wasn’t able to get enough of them ready, but I can guarantee you’re in for a treat.”

Jaehyun’s voice was cut and the agents raised their weapons. Shots were fired from both ends. Minseok and Zitao managed to shoot two of the agents in the head, but instead of blood, a metal skeleton frame was underneath the faux skin. The shots didn’t falter the agents. Two of the agents grabbed Yifan and pummeled him to the ground.

Hiroshi used his Power Fist on one of the agent’s faces. When he pulled away, the face of the agent was ripped off, exposing the robotic head of the synth. Hiroshi continued sending punches at the agent as the agent sent shots at Hiroshi. Finally, the synth collapsed on the ground. Junmeyon used the Power Armor on two of the agents, managing to take them down. Chanyeol and Baekhyun shot at two agents back-to-back, despite their injuries.

Kyungsoo looked up to see two red light blinking, “Careful, I think those turrets are about to go off.” He said.

Minseok pushed him out of the way and shot at one turret, while Yixing shot at the other. One of the agents that was down got back up and tackled Yixing down, shooting him in the back. Jongdae pulled him off and launched his dagger into the synth’s eye. Sehun sent one more shot into the agent to assure it didn’t get back up.

Once the agents were all dead and the turrets were destroyed, Junmyeon opened the door to the room at the end of the hallway. The group was greeted by Kim Wonshik sitting at the desk in front of them. Four Assaultrons were surrounding him, two on each side.

“Well, hello. Were you expecting Kim Jaehyun? Unfortunately, he’s not here right now.” Wonshik grinned.

“It’s over, Wonshik.” Hiroshi said, cocking his gun.

Wonshik snapped his fingers, and the Assaultrons approached the group. Junmyeon fired up the Power Armor, taking all four of them out rather quickly. Wonshik’s smile turned into a frown.

“How did you manage to do that?” Wonshik asked, standing up from his desk.

“You have to have experience with Power Armor to know how to make a stronger version.” Junmyeon said, voice still altered by the Power Armor’s voice box.

“And how would you have experience with it?” Wonshik asked.

Junmyeon pressed the buttons to exit the Power Armor. He emerged from the back, “Because I saw your blueprints myself, dad.”

Wonshik’s mouth dropped open, “Junmyeon.” He said.

“Surprised?” Junmyeon asked.

“Moreso to see you alive. I thought you would be dead, just like your mother.” Wonshik grinned at his son.

Anger flashed through Junmyeon’s eyes, “You know, dad? I have dreamed of this day for so long. Waiting to see you die in front of my very eyes. It’s going to be an honor to do it myself.”

Junmyeon approached his father, who backed up slowly.

“You might have to wait a moment to do that, my dear son.” Wonshik said. He pressed a button next to him, which activated four turrets on the walls. The turrets sent bullets into Jongin, Yixing, Chanyeol, and Lu Han. Lu Han threw an explosive at one of the turrets, Chanyeol used Atom’s Judgement on the other, Baekhyn used a mini nuke on the third, and Minseok used Jun’s ammo on the last one. The loud noise from the turrets distracted the group, until they heard Hiroshi scream. They turned to see Jaehyun with a knife to Hiroshi’s neck.

“I guess this is the big finale,” Jaehyun eyed the group. Hiroshi was trying to pull away Jaehyun’s hand with the dagger in it, “It’s an honor to meet you, Tanaka Hiroshi. You’re quite the celebrity around here.”

“Let him go, Jaehyun.” Junmyeon said in a stern tone.

“Let him go and he’ll let Wonshik go.” Chanyeol’s deep voice boomed.

“Oh, okay. Now that you offered, sure. I’ll let him go,” Jaehyun smiled. Jaehyun turned Hiroshi around for him to be making eye contact with him, “Sorry.” Jaehyun took the dagger that was in his hand and sliced through Hiroshi’s neck. Hiroshi’s body fell to the ground, blood pouring from his neck. Choked sounds came from his throat and he reached for his neck weakly.

“You mother fucker!” Minseok ran for Jaehyun. An SOA agent appeared from the entrance of the door Jaehyung snuck through and shot Minseok in the back with a shotgun when Minseok turned back for a moment. Minseok fell to the floor and Jongdae bent down to hold him.

“Looks like we are at an impass.” Wonshik said.

Junmyeon looked to the ground to see Hiroshi’s lifeless body on the ground.

“You killed him, you fucking killed him!” Junmyeon practically screamed. He cocked his gun and pointed it at his father’s head.

The SOA agent aimed his shotgun at Junmyeon’s head and Baekhyun pointed the Fat Man at the SOA agent and Jaehyun.

“Now, Junmyeon!” Baekhyun yelled as he sent a mini nuke at them. Junmyeon fired a shot into his father’s head, the sound of the gunshot and mini nuke echoed through the room. Kim Wonshik fell to the ground. The mini nuke blast went off and when the smoke dissipated, the wall behind the agent was painted red. Jaehyun was on the ground, his leg blown off.

Lu Han walked over and bent down next to Jaehyun.

“Tell me honestly, Mr. Kim. Did you think you would get away with it?” Lu Han stared intensely at the government official.

“I think I did quite well, to be honest. My revolution has made it past Korea. Have you seen the news?” Jaehyun ginned, pain not evident on his face.

Lu Han’s expression turned to anger.

“Oh, did I hit a soft spot?” Jaehyun asked, “Did I kill someone you love?”

“Yes, and now it’s my turn.”

Lu Han took the shotgun from the body of the SOA agent and shot Jaehyun in the head. He didn’t care that blood spattered all over him-- it felt good to kill him. Lu Han dropped the gun and turned to the group. Everyone looked like a wreck. People were shot, stabbed, bruised, and in pain. Worst of all, they lost the person who created Exodus.

In one final attempt, Junmyeon bent down to feel Hiroshi’s pulse.

“Nothing.” Junmyeon said, barely over a whisper. His eyes were welled up with tears as he looked at the group.

“We did it, but why do I still feel like shit?” Lu Han said.

“He wouldn’t have wanted us to be crying right now. He would want us to be celebrating,” Junmyeon smiled, pain still on his face, “He did this to make the world a better place, and he did that. For what he did, we can never forget him. To celebrate his life, we have to honor him.”

“Junmyeon is right,” Yixing started, holding his shoulder, “Hiroshi was an amazing person. We can rebuild for him. The first thing we need to do is make an announcement.” Yixing nodded his head in the direction of the desk. On the desk was the speaker that Jaehyun used to make his announcements.

Junmyeon made his way to the desk, stepping over his father’s body on the way. He pressed the button and held up the speaker to his mouth, “Hello to anyone listening. This is Kim Junmyeon announcing from the SOA building that Kim Jaehyun is dead. No longer will you have to live in fear of dying. We are here to rebuild what Jaehyun destoyed. My father was one of the masterminds behind the apocalypse, Kim Wonshik. I am proud to announce that he is gone too. If there are any survivors out there, I urge you to come to Seoul and meet us at Exodus Hotels. It is a safehouse that our late leader Tanaka Hiroshi helped create. He may have not made it to tell the tale, but we will honor him in the best way we can. Again, any suriviors, please come to Exodus Hotels. Thank you.” Junmyeon took his finger off of the button and sighed.

It was not an easy task getting the group back to Exodus Hotels. Each member had taken at least three shots to their bodies, luckily most of the injuries from the shots were minor due to the bulletproof vests. The shotgun shot that was sent into Minseok’s back went through the vest due to the shotgun’s power. He still managed to get up and help others, as well. The bones in Kyungsoo’s arm were shattered from being run over by the Sentry bot, but they were all alive, for the most part. On the ride back, Lu Han leaned his head on Sehun’s shoulder.

“You kept your promise.” Lu Han said.

“I told you I wouldn’t leave you, Lu.” Sehun replied.

“Does that mean that you can kiss me forever now?” Lu Han asked.

Sehun turned Lu Han’s head and kissed him, “It does.”

…

The world would never go back to normal, and that was accepted by all. The death toll took millions of innocent people in it’s wake. The fight still wasn’t over, and never would be. Radiation still left multiple cities unable to be inhabited, dangerous creatures still lurked the wasteland, and untrusting survivors still existed. Those who did believe in the new world listened to Junmyeon and came to Exodus Hotels. The radio broadcast that he made on the day that Exodus took down the SOA made news everywhere. Survivors from all parts of Seoul paid a visit to Exodus Hotels. Most importantly, Ito Jun showed up at Exodus Hotels two days after the announcement. Jun did the best he could to mend the wounds that Exodus had acquired during their infiltration. With Jun came three members of the vault that Jongdae and Sehun left from. Hong Jisoo, Kim Taehyung, and Lee Jooheon followed suit. Exodus grew more and more each day. The knowledge that Jun had on the government and technology in general landed him a position as the leader of Exodus with Junmyeon. Jun shared stories of Hiroshi when they were younger, giving fond memories of the late male for the group. The famous detective synth also came to Exodus. He informed the group he would not stay, but he instead would live in the city, continuing to bring justice to those who lost their lives.

Exodus had totaled to thirty members within a week of Jaehyun’s death. An unheard of safehouse in Jeju that had four members came last. Their names were Lee Taemin, Lee Seunghyun, Kim Jonghyun, and Kim Jihun. Though they were a small safehouse, they were a group of construction workers that were all wary of the SOA, so they built a safehouse inside of a house that was being built for a family. The house was never completed, due to the fallout, but the safehouse was.

As for the original members of Exodus, they were healing well. Kyungsoo’s arm would have a lengthy recovery, but he was grateful to have made it through. The stab wound in Chanyeol’s neck managed to just miss his Carotid Artery. The wounds that Zitao endured had Jun telling him that he couldn’t do Wushu until they were healed, much to Zitao’s chagrin. Yifan was also told to hold off on his training.

Minseok’s tailbone was fractured, but his spine was okay. Jongdae’s wounds did not stop him from taking care of Minseok, though Minseok said he didn’t need help.

Lu Han had a shot to the shoulder and a mild concussion, but he was recovering. Two of Sehun’s stab wounds were through the vest, but the one in his leg was deep. He was told by Jun to keep off of his leg, so he spent most of his time in the ballroom talking to the new guests of Exodus, or in his room with Lu Han.

Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Yifan were offered the position of being the official technicians of Exodus by Junmyeon, and they gratefully accepted. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were also teachers for target shooting.

Aside from being a technician, Yifan was also one of the trainers of Exodus. Zitao, Kyungsoo, and new member Wen Junhi were also given the title.

Kyungsoo became head chef of Exodus, and his first job was teaching Sehun and Jongdae to learn how to cook.

Each member was granted a position in their strongsuit. Jongin and Sehun were even told to create a dance class and it was offered as one of the training programs.

Though the creator of the nuclear fallout was dead, it was just the beginning. Exodus had many more fights to fight and more justice to bring. Raiders still existed, Red Force was still prominent, and the Glowing Sea still generated radiated creatures on a daily basis.

What mattered the most to them, however, was the ability to honor Hiroshi. It would never be the same without him, but each day was a step in the right direction.

…

“You know, I’ll never get tired of this.” Minseok said, snapping the neck of a Raider that he had in his grasp.

“Get tired of what? The killing?” Jongdae responded. A Yao Guai, that would have once terrified him, barreled towards him. Jongdae sighed as if it was almost an inconvenience and shot the Yao Guai with a mini nuke.

“Yeah, knowing that each creature we kill is hopefully one less for the next day.” Minseok stated.

“Cheers to that.” Jongin grinned and shot a turret in front of them.

“Also, with the progress that Jun and Junmyeon are making on finding a way to get rid of the Glowing Sea, I have a feeling we won’t be seeing these bastards for much longer.” Kyungsoo fired a shotgun at an approaching Glowing One.

Lu Han was sitting on the hood of their vehicle, an antique sports car that they found in an abandoned safehouse. He was throwing explosives at a pack of mutated wolves, a bored expression on his face.

“Now that we know how to handle these creatures, it’s so boring to fight them.” Lu Han sighed.

“Hey, better than being scared, huh?” Sehun hopped into the roofless sports car, dropping an arm from an Assaultron outside of the vehicle.

“That’s true.” Lu Han smiled when the last creature bled out. Sehun wrapped his arms around Lu Han from behind him and kissed the back of his neck.

“When we finish up here, Baekhyun and Chanyeol wanted to play us in a game of Catan. They’re still bitter they have lost every time.” Sehun said. Lu Han leaned his head backward to land on Sehun’s shoulder.

“It’s not our fault that their tactics suck and we always get the longest road.” Lu Han smiled.

“That’s what I said!” Sehun laughed.

“Alright, I think that’s the last of them.” Zitao said as he exited the abandoned warehouse next to the cars.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Yifan crossed his arms, “They don’t put up a very good fight.”

Kyungsoo, Jongin, Jongdae, and Minseok came over from the dilapidated forest that the group had cleared out.

“We better hurry back. Yixing and that Kim Minsung guy said that they wanted to make lunch.” Kyungsoo said.

“Oh shit, and Junmyeon was cool with that? We’re going to get poisoned with Kyungsoo not watching Yixing cook. Let’s go.” Minseok looked at the group.

“Agreed, but we’re taking this car. Finders keepers. You guys can take the Jeeps.” Lu Han grinned.

Minseok rolled his eyes, “Fine, but next time, it’s mine.”

“Deal.” Lu Han shook Minseok’s hand.

…

The group survived the meal prepared by Minsung and Yixing, only because one of  the newer members, Lee Taeyong, kept an eye on them. They ate in peace, sharing stories and experiences over sundubu jjigae.

“I swear, I’m five seconds away from importing some meat so we can have some. It’s been so long.” Baekhyun whined while chewing a piece of tofu.

“I mean, I can go chop up a rabid mole rat for you, if you really wanted.” Chanyeol joked.

“Ew, no way.” Baekhyun made a face of disgust.

“Speaking of importing, I got a message earlier.” Kyungsoo said.

“Really? From who?” Junmyeon questioned. Jihun and Jonghyun had fixed the computers in the SOA office, so the group could now get messages sent from people around the world.

“Jackson, actually. He said that he is in LA right now. I guess the bombs that Jaehyun dropped weren’t just in D.C. It’s a global issue. Anyway, everyone is in the process of rebuilding right now. While the radiation issue is only in South Korea, the bombs have been extremely deadly. Long story short, I don’t think you’ll be getting your beef any time soon.” Kyungsoo finished.

“I can only imagine how much worse it would be if Jaehyun was still alive right now.” Seunghyub said.

Kyungsoo nodded, “Jackson said that the bombs killed over 95% of the population in the US. He was lucky. He and, I think, six other guys are in a bunker right now.”

“Wow, that’s crazy.” Jongin’s eyes were wide with shock.

“This is the world we live in now. We have many obstacles to cross, as do many others now.” Junmyeon said, putting down his spoon.

“The best thing we can do is keep pushing forward, as we have been doing.” Jun responded.

The group nodded in agreement and continued their chatter.

After a toast to Hiroshi and dessert made by Taeyong and Kyungsoo, the group said their farewells for the night.

Sehun and Lu Han sat on the couch together in their room, both of their hair still dripping from their showers.

“I can’t believe it about America. We must have been too distracted to hear the rest of the news.” Sehun said.

“Seems like it,” Lu Han sighed, “I can believe it, though. He was crazy.”

Sehun hummed in agreement, “Are you scared?”

Lu Han clicked his tongue, “I was, at first. Not anymore. Not after everything we have been through. Sure, the nuclear fallout will never go away and maybe there will be feuds with other countries, but I have everything I need here.” He looked at Sehun.

“It’s not going to be easy for us—whatever the future may hold. However, our priority is Exodus. We have had the best mentors we could ever ask for.” Sehun said.

“We came out alive after everything, and we came out together. I think we are unstoppable together, you know?” Lu Han pulled Sehun into his arms.

“I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m glad we found each other, though it was in a very strange way.” Sehun chuckled.

“Never mind that, let’s just continue to kick some ass together. How does that sound?” Lu Han looked at Sehun.

“I like the sound of that.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some visuals, Lu Han doing shots was inspired by Running Man Season 5 Episode 11. His whole visual is based off of that episode. EXO's outfits for when they go to infiltrate the SOA are based partially off of the Lone Wanderer's jumpsuit from Fallout, but mostly off of their stage outfit for Power.   
> I hope that anyone reading enjoyed this two-shot. It is my longest fic so far. I have another Kaisoo fic that will be in the works and it will hopefully have more than nine chapters.   
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> The synth mentioned is Nick Valentine from Fallout 4. He is my favorite in-game companion!  
> This is the first half of this fic. The other half will probably be updated in a week or two. I was going to make it one chapter, but I went a bit heavy-handed whilst writing.


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